Rhetoric is linked to the construction of discourse.
Rhetoric is the discipline that studies and systematizes the language used in different fields of knowledge (such as natural sciences, narratology, political sciences and educational sciences), allowing communication in each field to achieve the objectives set. poses, both communicative and aesthetic.
This discipline allows the language used in each sector (whether oral or written) to allow the simple association of concepts and, at the same time, to comply with the three fundamental requirements of communication : delight, move and persuade .
What is rhetoric
It is said that rhetoric is "the art of saying well" or also "the technical ability to express oneself in the appropriate way" since it has a system of resources that serves for the discursive construction and enrichment of the message . The elements used in the speech, in turn, are closely related to each other.
It is important to clarify that rhetoric does not only study the effectiveness of communication, but also its aesthetic aspects . This means that, from the point of view of rhetoric, the discourse aims at something more than the simple act of communicating.
Its origins
The foundations of current rhetoric are based on the structure imposed by the ancient Greeks. For them, the composition of the speech consisted of two major phases: the inventio (the speaker analyzed the contents of a predetermined repertoire - which could be in his memory or belonged to society in general - and established them as the contents of his speech) and the dispositio (the way in which those contents were organized).
In turn, they structured the speech in four parts: the exordium (the initial part that tried to draw the listener's attention and present the structuring of the contents), the narratio (the presentation of the subject and the thesis), the argumentatio (the presentation of the reasons that supported the thesis) and the peroratio (the summary of what was said).
The metaphor is a rhetorical figure that consists of expressing a concept through a different one.
The rhetorical figures
Rhetorical figures are those resources that allow the syntax to be altered to give a certain meaning to the statement . They serve to divert the interlocutor to a figurative meaning of what is being expressed, preventing him from focusing on the literal meaning or the real order of the words.
There are four types of rhetorical figures:
Figures of speech : by altering the composition of words or phrases, a certain effect can be achieved on the interlocutor. Figures of speech can be of transformation or metaplasms (the words are altered and not the meanings), of repetition (the reiteration of certain words is used in the same speech), of omission (certain elements are eliminated) and of position (the certain elements change places within the same sentence).
Tropes : one expression is replaced by another to give a figurative meaning to the sentence. Among the best-known tropes are metaphor (a comparison in which the comparative element is not named), allegory (representation of an idea using human forms, animals or everyday objects), hyperbole (exaggeration of the truth to giving it more or less weight than it actually has), emphasis (use of a term in a specific and restricted sense) and irony (an expression that allows us to imply the opposite of what is being said).
Figures of repetition : through the repetition of a sound, word or sentence, the message can be given a certain weight. Among the best-known figures are alliteration (the same sound is repeated to cause a certain sensation), concatenation (repetition of words that are linked in the speech to give it a certain rhythm or color) and epiphora (the repeats a word that has already been used in the speech to close the paragraph, causing a certain impression).
Construction figures : consists of adding or removing certain words or sounds from the speech without causing a break in the meaning. One of the best known is repetition , which can be used at different moments of the speech to emphasize and ensure that the interlocutor understands the meaning of the message, through the constant reiteration of certain terms and discursive structures.