[The Fourth Leaf of Rhetoric]
Finding a four leaf clover may be a strenuous task. At some point in your life, you will, or have, searched for that supposedly lucky fourth leaf. Very few people have found the little green wonders, in fact, statistics say only one in every ten-thousand clovers will have four leaves. Searching for the “rare flower” may get you nowhere; instead, you might want to let the clover find you. Don’t waste time searching. The same goes for rhetoric. Rummaging around for specific rhetorical devices may be difficult. One must understand what rhetoric really is and then the fourth leaf will be found, metaphorically speaking that is. But unlike the four leaf clovers, rhetoric is EVERYWHERE: in movie titles, magazines, commercials, famous speeches, books, billboards and even the Bible. So stop your agonizing search and enjoy what ever it is you are reading or watching, because the rhetoric will always be there hiding and waiting to be found.
Examples of rhetoric:
- Anaphora(repetition)- [Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech]
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal. “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.” - Alliteration- [Sonic Menu]
Tater Tots - Parallelism- [Sonic Advertisement]
“Big Drink. Little Price”
“Easy On The Pocket. Delicious On The Stomach” - Simile- [Mike Morrell Comment for “The Shack”]
“This story reads like a prayer filled with sweat and wonder and transparency and surprise.” - Personification- [Oreo Commercial]
“Milk’s favorite Cookie”
Plainly searching for a specific rhetorical device is as difficult as searching for that propitious clover, but rhetoric IS everywhere.
Can you find a fourth leaf? . . . and I’m not talking about clovers.
