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what is a rhetorical question?

a rhetorical question is usually defined as any question asked for a purpose other than to obtain the information the question asks.

so... what does that mean?

a question is "rhetorical" if it is asked merely for effect with no answer expected.

  • the purpose of this figure of speech is not to secure a response but to assert or deny a point implicitly, as the answer is usually obvious.
  • a rhetorical question may serve as a subtle way of insinuating an idea that might be challenged by an audience if asserted directly.
  • to make a deeper impression upon the reader than a direct statement would.
  • While sometimes amusing and even humorous, rhetorical questions are rarely meant for pure, comedic effect. A carefully crafted question can, if delivered well, persuade an audience to believe in the position(s) of the speaker.

so what do you suggest we do...?

Try to answer the question in your head and if the combination of the question and answer seem silly or obvious enough then it is most likely a rhetorical question.

examples

"How many roads must a man walk down

Before you call him a man?

How many seas must a white dove sail

Before she sleeps in the sand?

Yes, how many times must the cannon balls fly

Before they're forever banned?"

- Bob Dylan, "Blowin' In The Wind"

"Here was a Caesar! when comes such another?"

-Marc Antony in "Julius Caesar", Act 3, scene 2, 257

"How do you keep a wave upon the sand

Oh, how do you solve a problem like Maria?

How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?"

-The Nuns, "Maria"; "The Sound of Music"

what is hypophora?

It is the rhetorical technique of asking a question, then immediately answering it.

But if you want to get technical...

Technically, hypophora is the question and anthypophora is the reply, but hypophora is frequently used to refer to the whole concept of raising and answering ones own question.

why is hypophora used?

examples

  • “You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be.” — Winston Churchill, 4 June 1940
  • “There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, ‘When will you be satisfied?’ We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “For Whites Only”. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” — Martin Luther King, Jr., 28 August 1963
  • "What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage!" — Cowardly Lion, The Wizard of Oz, 1939

“And how’d you get that [becoming King], eh? By exploiting the workers! By hanging on to outdated imperialist dogma which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society.”

— Monty Python, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Rhetorical Question & Hypophora

Yaa Obeng

  • There is a sense that the speaker is having a dialogue with the audience. The speaker asks a question (usually one that is on the minds of his listeners) and then answers it.
  • Asking the question arouses the curiosity of the audience about the answer. Thus, a well-timed pause between the question and answer can heighten the effect.
  • The speaker appears confident and in control of what he/she is saying [anticipate objections].

let's play a game!

how to use rhetorical questions in your writing

how to spot a rhetorical question

and what effect might that be (purpose of a rhetorical question)?

  • BEFORE YOU USE A RHETORICAL QUESTION, ASK WHAT PURPOSE IT WILL SERVE IN YOUR WRITING
  • The question should make your reader pause and think about what you just said
  • They can be good to begin a paragraph, but they are also effective in concluding a point
  • Make sure the answer is as apparent to your reader as it is to you
  • Depending on the context, a rhetorical question may be punctuated by a question mark (?), period (.), or exclamation mark (!), but it is generally best to use a question mark for any question, rhetorical or not.
  • Rhetorical questions may be signaled by marker phrases such as "after all", or "by any chance".
  • There is really know no specific way to identify a rhetorical question (in writing) without knowing the context in which the question is in.

how to use hypophora in your writing

  • to introduce a paragraph
  • ex. "Why should you vote for me? I'll give you five good reasons...."
  • as a way to anticipate questions or concerns you think your reader might raise
  • ex. "So what is the answer to our rising crime problem?"
  • introduce important information
  • to bring up a number of points
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