rhetorical fragment examples in literature

The verb in the sentence-Smoking is forbidden now in restaurants in most western nations-is in passive voice, but is not an error in usage. The active voice version of our example sentence above contains nine words, while the passive voice version contains eleven words.īut there are instances when the use of passive voice is required and even more effective, especially if the agent for the action is indeterminate. The verb “scattered” is in past tense and active voice.Īctive voice is distinct from passive voice, in which the agent acted upon becomes the subject of the verb, and the agent becomes the object of the verb: Tree branches were scattered by the wind, all over the street.Īctive voice is generally considered more effective in academic writing because it is usually clearer and more concise. In this sentence, for example-The wind scattered tree branches all over the street.-“wind” is the subject, “scattered” is the verb, and “branches” is the object. Active Voiceĭescribes the usual syntactical relationship between a subject, verb, and object, in which the subject is the agent of the verb’s action and the object is the agent acted upon. The “voice” of an essay or report you write for your teachers and professors is more formal, characterized by the use of complete sentences, Standard English, and sophisticated (but not ostentatious) diction. The “voice” of your text messages and emails to your friends is informal, characterized by the use of slang, acronyms, and incomplete sentences. Voice refers to the relationship between writer and reader, conveyed by the level of formality in diction and syntax. Feature Unit: The Sonnets of William Shakespeare (1564–1616)Īppendix A: Glossary of English Rhetoric, Grammar, and Usage Academic Voice.Feature Poet: Emily Dickinson (1830–1886).Feature Unit: The Poetry of World War I.Feature Unit: The Poetry of the Harlem Renaissance.Here, a stage connotes the world players suggest human beings, and parts imply different stages of their lives.25. An Anthology of Poems for Further Study They have their exits and their entrances Īnd one man in his time plays many parts …” Look at the following lines from Shakespeare’s play As you Like It:Īnd all the men and women merely players Example #7: As you Like It (By William Shakespeare)Ĭonnotation provides the basis for symbolic meanings of words because symbolic meanings of objects are different from their literal sense. In the line “The life from spilling,” the word “life” connotes “blood.” It does make sense as well because the loss of blood may cause loss of life. “As he swung toward them holding up the hand

Read the following lines from Robert Frost’s poem Out, Out: Here, the word “ear” connotes the idea of people listening to him attentively. “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.” For example, Mark Anthony, in Act III of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, says: Metonymy is another figure of speech that makes use of connotative or suggested meanings, as it describes a thing by mentioning something else with which it is closely connected. Example #5: Julius Caesar (By William Shakespeare) Jones (the owner of the farm), represents the overthrown Tsar Nicholas II and Boxer, the horse, represents the laborer class. The pigs in the novel connote wicked and powerful people who can change the ideology of a society. The actions of the animals on the farm illustrate the greed and corruption that arose after the Communist Revolution of Russia. George Orwell’s allegorical novel Animal Farm is packed with examples of connotation. Example #4: The Animal Farm (By George Orwell) The word “Jew” generally had a negative connotation of wickedness, while “Christian” demonstrated positive connotations of kindness. The Hebrew will turn Christian: he grows kind.” For example, we see a sarcastic remark made by Antonio to Shylock, the Jew, in William Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice: Irony and satire exhibit connotative meanings, as the intended meanings of words are opposite to their literal meanings.

Rhetorical fragment examples in literature