Rhetorical Device Cheat Sheet

For Shakespeare’s HamletKHS 3B 2014

Some of this is review.

Anything in italics will be seen a lot in the play.

Plot Chart:Exposition: introduction to the characters and the world of the play

Rising Action: Begins the moment that conflict is introduced which is known as the Inciting Incident.

Climax: The moment that the conflict is resolved and there is a change in the main character

Falling Action: The tying up of loose ends

Resolution: The final resting of the issues (not essential to the story/play) What might lie ahead for the characters

WHERE IS THE INCITING INCIDENT?

Dynamic Character: Character that has a change throughout the work

The changes in Neville Longbottom, of the Harry Potter series, he goes from being a meak, unskilled ninny to become the fastest-learning member of the DA and attempts to fight in the battle at the Ministry.

Hermione also undergoes some pretty big changes. She starts off as a bossy, insecure, neurotic, rule-abiding little girl, best exemplified by equating being expelled from school with being killed. Ultimately ends up with a number of to be lawful or good decisions, and chooses to be good — beginning with her lying to Professor McGonagall about going after a troll in order to keep Harry and Ron out of trouble.

In the first two seasons of My Name is Earl, Earl goes from a greedy criminal jerk motivated by a misinterpretation of the concept of karma to a genuinely selfless person.

Most of the cast of Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas himself started off as a cocky, immature young station pilot with the delusion that no engine worked harder than he. But he learned from advice and his experiences to be responsible, earning his own branch line and eventually becoming a wise engine in his own right. Gordon learned to be less condescending towards other engines, and he, Henry, and James all learned not to complain about other trains.

My Little Pony, all of the mane characters, while maintaining most of their defining flaws and characterizations to some extent, have matured slightly and become more flexible. Twilight Sparkle in particular started off aloof and uninterested in socializing to a warm leader who cares deeply about her new friends and community. Rainbow Dash went from resenting her weaker comrades to nurturing and motivating them (particularly noticeable in her treatment of Fluttershy), Applejack became less prideful and more willing to accept help from others, and Fluttershy has shown more moments of strong will.

Static Character: Does not change throughout the workBatman usually suffers from little character development except in some alternative continuity stories like The Dark Night Returns.

Most comic book villains, at least after their tragic back stories. And that's part of what makes them villains; they don't change. The Joker will always be a psychotic murdering clown, and he shouldn't be anything else.

Wolverine

All of The Peanuts

Superman

James Bond

Joey from Friends

Sam from iCarly

Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory

Every one except Gandalf in Lord of the Rings and all the vampires in Twilight

Alliteration: repetition of same sound at the beginning of the word: Clare clears cliffs. Bob’s Burgers. Sally sells seashells.

Consonance: The repeating of a consonant sound within a word. Double double toil and trouble

Assonance: The repetition of the same vowel sound within a word. Double double toil and trouble

Repetition: the repeating of a word or phrase to pull the reader’s attention. (“Nevermore!”)

Anaphora: The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.

Why I never walked away?Why I played myself this way?Now I see, you're testing me, pushes me awayWhy I never walked away?Why I played myself this way?Now I see, you're testing me, pushes me away

LINKIN PARK: Pushing Me Away

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBr8Zt2eS9o

Enjambment: The lack of punctuation at the end of a line that serves to speed up the pacing.

a few lines from Keats' Endymion which demonstrate how enjambment works:A thing of beauty is a joy forever:

Its loveliness increases; it will never Pass into nothingness but still will keep

A bower quiet for us, and asleep Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.(ll .1-5)

Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless seaBut sad mortality oe’ersways their power.

How with this sway shall beauty hold a pleaWhose action is no stronger than a flower?

Iambic refers to the rhythm of the line which is defined by the up and down beats or the stress on the lines.Iambic is the repeating pattern of stressed unstressed which is marked by a slash over the stressed (/) and a U over the unstressed.

U / U / U / U / U /Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea

In Iambic pentameter, there are 5 feet per line marked by a full iamb (marked in the brackets)

U / U / U / U / U /[Since brass], [nor stone],[ nor earth], [nor bound][less sea]

The stressed syllable receives the stress and the unstressed, downbeat, receives the unstressed.

The entirety of the play is written in iambic pentameter.

HEARTBEAT

Iambic Pentameter: A form of writing in verse. It is characterized by the syllable count and the beats.

Personification: The endowing of human qualities onto a non-human entity.

Onomatopoeia: A word that makes the sound it represents

Allusion: A passing reference to a person, place, thing, or common element of everyday life.

Here are some examples that allude to people or events in literature: 

“I was surprised his nose was not growing like Pinocchio’s.” This refers to the story of Pinocchio, where his nose grew whenever he told a lie. It is from The Adventures of Pinocchio, written by Carlo Collodi. 

“When she lost her job, she acted like a Scrooge, and refused to buy anything that wasn’t necessary.” Scrooge was an extremely stingy character from Charles Dickens’, A Christmas Carol. 

“I thought the software would be useful, but it was a Trojan Horse.” This refers to the horse that the Greeks built that contained all the soldiers. It was given as a gift to the enemy during the Trojan War and, once inside the enemy's walls, the soldiers broke out. By using trickery, the Greeks won the war.

“He was a real Romeo with the ladies.” Romeo was a character in Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, and was very romantic in expressing his love for Juliet.  

“Chocolate was her Achilles’ heel.” This means that her weakness was her love of chocolate. Achilles is a character in Greek mythology who was invincible. His mother dipped him in magical water when he was a baby, and she held him by the heel. The magic protected him all over, except for his heel. 

Biblical Allusions There are many biblical allusions that are used in our everyday language and in

writing.Here are a few examples: 

“He was a Good Samaritan yesterday when he helped the lady start her car.” This refers to the biblical story of the Good Samaritan. 

“She turned the other cheek after she was cheated out of a promotion.” This comes from teaching of Jesus that you should not get revenge. 

“This place is like a Garden of Eden.” The Garden of Eden was the paradise God made for Adam and Eve. 

“You are a Solomon when it comes to making decisions.” This refers to King Solomon, who was very wise.

“When the volcano erupted, the nearby forest was swallowed up in dust and ash like Jonah.” Jonah was a person who was swallowed alive by a whale. 

“It is raining so hard, I hope it doesn’t rain for 40 days and 40 nights.” This makes a reference to the biblical story of Noah and the ark he built. He was told

by God that it would rain for 40 days and 40 nights and flood the land

Antithesis: A person or thing that is the direct opposite of something else. hot/cold black/whiteDuck Dynasty/Here Comes Honey Boo-booAngel/DevilLion/LambEvil twin idea…Movies: The Wrestler revolves around the beauty found in the "lower art" of wrestling while Black Swan revolves around the horror found in the "higher art" of ballet

Foil: A person or thing that is the direct opposite of something else for the purpose of offsetting and amplifying the other.

Watson (from Sherlock Holmes):S wouldn’t look so eccentric with out W

Ron & Hermoine (from Harry Potter): H wouldn’t look so put together and obedient with out R

Bob Ewell and Tom Robinson from To Kill a Mockingbird

Iron Man and Captain America

Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc

Beast and Gaston

Will and Jack from Pirates of the Caribbean

Marshall and Barney from How I Meet Your Mother

Rachel and Monica from Friends

Jewelers often put shiny metal foil underneath a gem to make the stone shine brighter. A literary foil is someone who highlights another character's trait, usually by contrast, but sometimes by competing with him, making snarky remarks, or egging him on. Sidekicks often serve as foils to the hero by being something the hero himself is not (a calm and pragmatic sidekick when the hero is hotheaded, for example). In the classic good-guy versus bad guy scenario, both the hero and villain can each be considered the other's foil, in that each acts to show how the other behaves in certain situations.

Hyperbole: Over exaggeration

Understatement: Extreme downplaying

Metaphor: Comparison not using like or as

Simile: A comparison using like or as

Oxymoron: A contradiction that is nevertheless somehow true

Parallelism: the sequencing of events or lives in a parallel structure.

The House of the Rising Sun

"My mother was a tailor (she sewed your new blue jeans); My father was a gambling man down in New Orleans."

Many folk songs have parallelism, especially the cumulative ones like "The Twelve Days of Christmas“"Hush, Little Baby, Don't Say a Word" "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain"

I licked the silver spoonDrank from the golden cupSmoked the finest green

I stroked the baddest dimesAt least a couple of timesBefore I broke their heart

You know where it endsYo, it usually dependsOn where you start

I knew this kid named MaxHe used to get fat stacksOut on the corner with drugs

He liked to hang out lateHe liked to get shit facedAnd keep pace with thugs

Until late one nightThere was a big gun fightMax lost his head

He pulled out his Chrome .45Talked some shitAnd wound up dead

And now his wife and his kidsAre caught in the midstOf all of his pain

You know it comes that wayAt least that's what they sayWhen you play the game

[CHORUS]God forbid you ever had to wake up to hear the news'Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to loseThen you really might know what it's like [3x]To have to lose…

"What It's Like"

We've all seen the man at the liquor store beggin' for your changeThe hair on his face is dirty, dreadlocked and full of mangeHe asked a man for what he could spare with shame in his eyes"Get a job, you fuckin' slob"'s all he replied

[CHORUS]God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes'Cause then you really might know what it's like to sing the bluesThen you really might know what it's like [4x]

Mary got pregnant from a kid named Tom who said he was in loveHe said, "Don't worry about a thing, baby doll, I'm the man you've been dreamin' of."But three months later he said he won't date her or return her callAnd she sweared, "God damn if I find that man I'm cuttin' off his balls."And then she heads for the clinic and she gets some static walkin' through the door.They call her a killer, and they call her a sinner, and they call her a whore

[CHORUS]God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in her shoes'Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to chooseThen you really might know what it's like [4x]

I've seen a rich man begI've seen a good man sinI've seen a tough man cry

I've seen a loser winAnd a sad man grinI heard an honest man lie

I've seen the good side of badAnd the down side of upAnd everything between

Examples in Hamlet…..