rhetorical question essays

You want to learn about rhetorical questions, don't you? This lesson will explore the purpose and use of rhetorical questions in literature, through its examination and literary examples. Definition of a Rhetorical QuestionHave you heard anyone say to you, 'Nice weather, isn't it?' You may agree, but the implication is that you're supposed to agree, because they have already told you the answer - that the weather is nice. This is a basic example of a rhetorical question. A rhetorical question is a device used to persuade or subtly influence the audience. It's a question asked not for the answer, but for the effect. Oftentimes, a rhetorical question is used to emphasize a point or just to get the audience thinking. Sometimes, a rhetorical question is asked with the asker already knowing the answer, such as the weather example. Other times, the question asked is unanswerable, such as 'Will corruption ever cease?' However, according to the asker, it should be obvious that corruption will never cease. Here's a fun fact: A famous printer from the 16th century, Henry Denham, invented the rhetorical question mark, which was a question mark facing the opposite direction. However, it never became a permanent punctuation mark in the English language. Purpose and Effect in LiteratureIn literature, rhetorical questions can be a very powerful persuasive or thought-provoking tool. They can be humorous, obvious, or reflective. For example, in William Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice, there is a very famous speech given by the character Shylock, who is trying to fight against the anti-Semitism he faces as a Jew. He says: '. I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and.
A rhetorical question is asked just for effect or to lay emphasis on some point discussed when no real answer is expected. A rhetorical question may have an obvious answer but the questioner asks rhetorical questions to lay emphasis to the point. In literature, a rhetorical question is self-evident and used for style as an impressive persuasive device. Broadly speaking, a rhetorical question is asked when the questioner himself knows the answer already or an answer is not actually demanded. So, an answer is not expected from the audience. Such a question is used to emphasize a point or draw the audience’s attention. Common Examples of Rhetorical Questions Rhetorical questions, though almost needless or meaningless, seem a basic need of daily language. Some common examples of rhetorical questions from daily life are as follows. “Who knows?” “Are you stupid?” “Did you hear me?” “Ok?” “Why not?” Mostly, it is easy to spot a rhetorical question because of its position in the sentence. It occurs immediately after the comment made and states the opposite of it. The idea again is to make a point more prominent. Some rhetorical question examples are as follows. Keep in mind that they are also called tag questions if used in everyday conversation. “It’s too hot today. Isn’t it?” “The actors played the roles well. Didn’t they?” Examples of Rhetorical Questions in Literature Rhetorical questions in literature are as important as they are in daily language or perhaps even more. The reason is that the significant change a rhetorical question can bring about. The absence or presence of a rhetorical question in some of the most famous lines in literature would change the impact altogether. Some examples of rhetorical questions in literature show that writers sometimes ask such type of question and then goes on to answer it to produce a desired effects. Example 1 A very good example.
Something [rhetorical] questions all have in common.. is that they are not asked, and are not understood, as ordinary information-seeking questions, but as making some kind of claim, or assertion, an assertion of the opposite polarity to that of the question. (Irene Koshik, Beyond Rhetorical Questions. John Benjamins, 2005) Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who would want to live in an institution? (H. L. Mencken) It did not occur to me to call a doctor, because I knew none, and although it did occur to me to call the desk and ask that the air conditioner be turned off, I never called, because I did not know how much to tip whoever might come--was anyone ever so young? (Joan Didion, Goodbye to All That. Slouching Towards Bethlehem, 1968) The means are at hand to fulfill the age-old dream: poverty can be abolished. How long shall we ignore this under-developed nation in our midst? How long shall we look the other way while our fellow human beings suffer? How long (Michael Harrington, The Other America: Poverty in the United States, 1962) Must I argue the wrongfulness of slavery? Is that a question for republicans? Is it to be settled by the rules of logic and argumentation, as a matter beset with great difficulty, involving a doubtful application of the principle of justice, hard to understand? (Frederick Douglass, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? July 5, 1852) Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? If you prick us, do we not bleed, if you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? (Shylock in William Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice) Can I ask a rhetorical question? Well, can I? (Ambrose Bierce) Aren't you glad you use Dial? Don't you wish everybody did? (1960s television advertisement for Dial soap) To actually see inside your ear canal--it would be fascinating, wouldn't it?.