Does your writing need a wake-up call?
| Audience |
Grades 6-12; recommended by Classical Conversations communities for Challenges A-IV. |
| Accessibility |
Introduces rhetorical devices with simple explanations and many examples. Most students will require minimal guidance |
| Preparation |
None required; best used while also reading full works of classic literature. |
| Ease of Use |
Regular print; two-column format. The rhetorical device is underlined in each example to make it easier to identify. Black-and-white illustrations break up the text. |
| Author |
Ed. Jen Greenholt |
| Page Count |
96 pages |
| Format |
Perfect bound; soft cover |
| Publication Date |
2016 |
General Description
Discover how lively words can be as you study the art of rhetoric at the feet of the finest writers history has to offer. Rhetorical devices like simile and metaphor may be ancient, but unlike Rip Van Winkle, they don’t get to sleep for decades. Great writers and speakers bring these techniques to life every day, whenever they break out a rhyme or build a metaphor.
Taught by definition only, rhetorical devices can seem abstract and difficult to understand, but examples allow you to pick them up, toss them from hand to hand, and carry them out of the school room and into the world, where you’ll begin to discover the rhetorical devices in everything from poetry to advertising and from politics to visual art and sports.
For every definition, Wakeful Words gives examples from Newbery winners, short stories, American and British novels, Shakespearean drama, and ancient literature. Whether you are an aspiring creative writer, a teacher of rhetoric, or a future world leader, you’ll benefit from the opportunity to learn by example.
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