Do you know what a rhetorical question is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on rhetorical questions, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!
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Kevin
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January 1, 2022
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Common Questions
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What is a rhetorical question?
According to Collins English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, and the American Heritage Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, a rhetorical question is a question to which no answer is required. In the 1580s, English printer Henry Denham invented the “rhetorical question mark” (⸮) which was a punctuation used at the end of a rhetorical question but this is no longer used. This looks like a reverse question mark. A rhetorical question will end in a question mark, not a full stop or exclamation mark. Rhetorical questions have been used by many famous authors and poets, like Langston Hughes, William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice by Shylock, Romeo and Juliet, and Julius Caesar as well as singers like Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” and Tina Turner, in films like The Sound of Music by Maria, in The Simpsons as well as in presidential administrations like the Carter administration or that of Ronald Reagan. These are also known as erotesis, erotema, interrogatio, questioner, and reversed polarity question.
In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet says the following: “’Tis but thy name that is my enemy. Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.”
Rhetorical questions can be used for a variety of different effects. They can be sued for persuasion as an effective persuasive devise, to point out obvious known facts, the hypocrisy of a system, for revenge or cruelty, as a sarcastic kind of response, in persuasive writing, as weapons, in the classroom for a lesson.
Many different languages also contain words that mean rhetorical. You may notice that some of these translations of rhetorical look and sound similar to one another. These are called cognates, which are words and phrases in different languages that likely have the same root or language of origin, causing them to sound the same. The below list of translations of rhetorical is provided by Word Sense.
- Dutch: redekunde (fem.), retorica (fem.), retoriek (fem.)
- Hebrew: רטוריקה (fem.)
- Italian: retorica (fem.)
- Mandarin: 修辭, 修辞 (xiūcí)
- Serbo-Croatian: retòrika (fem.), gòvōrnīštvo (neut.)
- Tagalog: sayusay
- German: Rhetorik (fem.)
- Czech: řečnictví (neut.), rétorika (fem.)
- Polish: retoryka (fem.)
- Spanish: retórica (fem.)
- Danish: retorik, velformuleret
- Russian: красноре́чие (neut.), красноба́йство (neut.), рито́рика (fem.)
- Ukrainian: рето́рика (fem.)
- Swedish: retorik (common)
- Armenian: հռետորաբանություն
- Irish: reitric (fem.), roscaireacht (fem.)
- Portuguese: retórica (fem.)
- Finnish: puhetaito, retoriikka
- Thai: วาทศิลป์
- Persian: بلاغت
- French: rhétorique (fem.)
What are examples of rhetorical questions?
Rhetorical questions can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or literary technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of rhetorical questions that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use. Take a look at these rhetorical question examples from Your Dictionary and see how many you know!
- Can fish swim?
- There’s no point, is there?
- How many times do I have to tell you not to yell in the house?
- How much longer will this injustice continue?
- Can birds fly?
- Is this supposed to be some kind of a joke?
- How do you keep a wave upon the sand?
- Could I possibly love you more?
- Do pigs fly?
- Who cares?
- What’s the matter with kids today?
- Do you want to be a success in this world?
- How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?
- How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?
- Does a bear poop in the woods?
- Why do we go on?
- What is wrong with the world today?
- Is the sky blue?
- Who knows?
- You didn’t think I would say yes to that, did you?
- What is the meaning of life?
- Is the pope Catholic?
- There’s no hope, is there?
- How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?
- Do you want to be a failure for the rest of your life?
- Why me?
- Do dogs bark?
- Can we do better next time?
- How should I know?
- Why bother?
- Is rain wet?
- Do cats meow?
- Is there anyone smarter than me?
- Is hell hot?
- Who’s counting?
- Thunder and lighting: isn’t this nice weather?
What are other literary techniques and devices?
There are many different grammatical and literary techniques and devices that you might see when you are reading poetry or prose. Knowing these devices is very important because they are always used in writing or speech for some purpose. Knowing these devices can help readers and listeners understand the speaker or author’s deeper meaning and why they are using such a device. Take a look at the below list of literary devices from Reedsy and see how many you know! Then try researching ones that are unfamiliar to you.
- Archetype
- Polysyndeton
- Repetition
- Chiasmus
- Aphorism
- Personification
- Metaphor
- Hypophora
- Malapropism
- Anastrophe
- Paradox
- Point of view
- Metonymy
- Foreshadowing
- Simile
- Allusion
- Zoomorphism
- Motif
- Synecdoche
- Flashback
- Cumulative sentence
- Frame story
- Dramatic irony
- Euphemism
- Litotes
- Imagery
- Anachronism
- Tmesis
- Allegory
- Exposition
- In Medias Res
- Hyperbole
- Tone
- Alliteration
- Anaphora
- Satire
- Colloquialism
- Tautology
- Soliloquy
- Onomatopoeia
- Tragicomedy
- Irony
- Symbolism
- Isocolon
- Anthropomorphism
- Juxtaposition
Overall, a rhetorical question is one that has no answer.
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