You already know similes, metaphors and personification. Hyperbole is exaggeration for effect: “This bag weighs a tonne.” A rhetorical question is asked for effect, not for an answer: “Who wants to live in a world without trees?”
Writers use these devices for different purposes. Figurative language creates vivid pictures in stories and poems. Rhetorical questions and hyperbole are common in persuasive writing because they make readers think and feel.
Always connect the device to its purpose: what is the writer trying to make you see, feel or do?
Worked example
What is the purpose of “Is it really fair that children pay the price?” in a speech?
- It is a question the speaker does not expect us to answer.
- The obvious answer is no, so it makes listeners agree.
Answer:It is a rhetorical question that persuades listeners to agree it is unfair.
Key words
- hyperbole
- exaggeration for effect
- rhetorical question
- a question asked for effect
- purpose
- the reason a writer uses something
New questions every time.
Common Core-referenced: L.5.5a