156:"The effectiveness of rhetorical questions in argument comes from their dramatic quality. They suggest dialogue, especially when the speaker both asks and answers them himself, as if he were playing two parts on the stage. They are not always impassioned; they may be mildly ironical or merely argumentative: but they are always to some extent dramatic, and, if used to excess, they tend to give one’s style a theatrical air." -- J.H. Gardiner
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In the vernacular, this form of rhetorical question is called "rhetorical affirmation". The certainty or obviousness of the answer to a question is expressed by asking another, often humorous, question for which the answer is equally obvious. Popular examples include "Do bears shit in the woods?",
99:, in which "How do you solve a problem like Maria?" is repeatedly answered with other questions: "How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?", "How do you keep a wave upon the sand?" and "How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?" These responses assert that a problem like Maria cannot be solved.
73:. For example, in response to being informed that smoking can increase the possibility of developing lung cancer, someone could respond with the question, "Who knew?" The question functions as an assertion that the truth of the statement should have been utterly obvious.
148:" (⸮) for use at the end of a rhetorical question; however, it fell out of use in the 17th century. It was the reverse of an ordinary question mark, so that instead of the main opening pointing back into the sentence, it opened away from it.
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Depending on the context, a rhetorical question may be punctuated by a question mark (?), full stop (.), or exclamation mark (!), but some sources argue that it is required to use a question mark for any question, rhetorical or not.
159:"Rhetorical questioning is…a fairly conscious technique adopted by a speaker for deliberate ends, and it is used infrequently, proportional to the length of the dialogue, oration, or conversation." -- Boyd H. Davis
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A simple example is the question "Can't you do anything right?" This question is intended not to ask about the listener's ability but rather to insinuate the listener's lack of ability.
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A rhetorical question may be intended as a challenge. The question is often difficult or impossible to answer. In the example, "What have the Romans ever done for us?" (
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exclaims, "Here was a Caesar! When comes such another?" it functions as an assertion that Caesar possesses such rare qualities they may never be seen again. (
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is a hyponym of a rhetorical question, characterized by the speaker posing a question for which is immediately answered by the speaker themself. Examples:
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31:. In many cases it may be intended to start a discourse, as a means of displaying or emphasizing the speaker's or author's opinion on a topic.
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Figure of speech in the form of a question, asked to make a point rather than to elicit an answer
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Electronic
Discourse: Linguistics Individuals in Virtual Space
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http://www.whitesmoke.com/punctuation-question-mark.html#rhe
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69:Negative assertions may function as positives in
108:"Is the sky blue?" and "Is the Pope Catholic?"
466:Audio illustrations of the rhetorical question
438:. Albany: State University of New York Press.
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313:Fergusson, Rosalind; Partridge, Eric (1994).
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233:Gideon O. Burton, Brigham Young University.
263:Powell, Chris; Paton, George E. C. (1988).
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265:Humour in society: resistance and control
81:Rhetorical questions are often used as a
27:asked for a purpose other than to obtain
292:. Oxford University Press. p. 158.
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317:Shorter dictionary of catch phrases
412:Manual of Composition and Rhetoric
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239:specialized language definitions
471:A short definition of the term
461:What is a rhetorical question?
140:In the 1580s, English printer
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214:Betteridge's law of headlines
50:Monty Python's Life of Brian
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209:Performative contradiction
389:Eats, Shoots & Leaves
267:. Macmillan. p. 67.
194:Double-barreled question
146:rhetorical question mark
363:grammar.ccc.commnet.edu
288:Moon, Rosamund (1998).
235:"Rhetorical questions!"
91:Rodgers and Hammerstein
66:, Act 3, scene 2, 257)
415:. Ginn & Company.
872:Rhetorical techniques
321:. Routledge. p.
174:Hypothetical question
434:Davis, Boyd (1997).
409:Gardiner, J (1907).
831:Rhetorical question
369:on 8 September 2006
359:"The Question Mark"
179:Suggestive question
43:Negative assertions
21:rhetorical question
96:The Sound of Music
71:sarcastic contexts
877:Types of question
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245:on 2007-10-26
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824:Antanaclasis
728:Epanorthosis
645:Polysyndeton
538:Antimetabole
523:Alliteration
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371:. Retrieved
367:the original
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243:the original
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144:invented a "
142:Henry Denham
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713:Catachresis
698:Antonomasia
693:Antiphrasis
635:Parallelism
585:Epanalepsis
548:Aposiopesis
528:Anadiplosis
204:Implicature
132:Punctuation
58:Mark Antony
29:information
867:Pragmatics
861:Categories
841:Synecdoche
745:Dysphemism
718:Ecphonesis
708:Apostrophe
650:Spoonerism
640:Polyptoton
620:Hyperbaton
595:Epistrophe
580:Consonance
543:Antithesis
348:Whitesmoke
249:2007-10-19
103:Vernacular
846:Tautology
772:Apophasis
750:Euphemism
733:Hyperbole
723:Ekphrasis
615:Hypallage
605:Hendiadys
600:Epizeuxis
590:Epiphrase
558:Asyndeton
553:Assonance
126:epiphrase
118:hypophora
112:Hypophora
93:musical,
77:Metaphors
809:Pleonasm
799:Oxymoron
794:Metonymy
789:Metaphor
762:Innuendo
738:Adynaton
703:Aphorism
688:Allusion
683:Allegory
655:Symploce
630:Isocolon
563:Chiasmus
533:Anaphora
444:42636887
373:18 March
163:See also
83:metaphor
25:question
784:Litotes
777:Sarcasm
755:Meiosis
515:Schemes
421:1926080
836:Simile
675:Tropes
665:Zeugma
660:Tmesis
568:Climax
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169:Aporia
152:Quotes
767:Irony
220:Notes
87:Maria
38:Forms
23:is a
573:Anti
440:OCLC
417:OCLC
393:ISBN
375:2018
327:ISBN
294:ISBN
269:ISBN
116:The
819:Pun
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323:25
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19:A
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