Learning Rhetorical Devices Through Taylor Swift Lyrics
Explore how Taylor Swift weaves rhetorical devices into her songs and learn the craft of rhetoric.
My mom recently pointed out to me that Taylor Swift is an excellent lyricist. I had never given it much thought, but after I spent an entire workday listening to her songs, I have to agree!
I was impressed at the variety of rhetorical devices that Taylor uses. So, for this week, I'd like to go over something a bit dry—rhetoric—and liven it up with music.
Below are the definitions of 15 common rhetorical devices, links to their Wikipedia page, and an example from a Taylor Swift song. You can see how these devices make prose and poetry punchier.
Adnomination
The "juxtaposed repetition of words with similar roots or speech sounds within a phrase or sentence."
Example: That you never loved me, or her / Or anyone, or anything (I Knew You Were Trouble)
Alliteration
The "repetition of syllable-initial consonant sounds between nearby words."
Example: I polish plates until they gleam and glisten (tolerate it)
Allusion
A "figure of speech, in which an object or circumstance from an unrelated context is referred to covertly or indirectly."
Example: 'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter (Love Story)
Anaphora
Repeating "a sequence of words at the beginnings of neighboring clauses, thereby lending them emphasis."
Example: Is it cool that I said all that / Is it chill that you're in my head (Delicate)
Anastrophe
A "figure of speech in which the normal word order of the subject, the verb, and the object is changed."
Example: Bad was the blood of the song in the cab on your first trip to L.A. (Invisible String—with a bonus allusion to Taylor's own work!)
Anacoluthon
Often "sentences [that are] interrupted midway, where there is a change in the syntactical structure of the sentence."
Example: Look what you just made me--Ooh, look what you made me do (Look What You Made Me Do)
Assonance
A "resemblance in the sounds of words/syllables...between their vowels."
Example: Ooh, look what you made me do (Look What You Made Me Do)
Epistrophe
The "repetition of the same word or words at the end of successive phrases, clauses or sentences."
Example: It feels like a perfect night / For breakfast at midnight (22)
Epizeuxis
The "repetition of a word or phrase in immediate succession, typically within the same sentence, for vehemence or emphasis."
Example: We are never, ever, ever, ever getting back together (We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together)
Hyperbole (Auxesis)
The "use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech."
Example: You search in every model's bed for something greater (Is It Over Now?)
Metaphor
A "figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another."
Example: Karma is my boyfriend / karma is a god / karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend (Karma)
Parallelism
A "rhetorical device that compounds words or phrases that have equivalent meanings so as to create a definite pattern."
Example: You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath (All Too Well, 10 minute version)
Polysyndeton
The "deliberate insertion of conjunctions into a sentence" to slow the rhythm of the prose.
Example: 'Til we were dead and gone and buried (All Too Well, 10 minute version)
Repetition
The "simple repeating of a word, within a short space of words (including in a poem), with no particular placement of the words to secure emphasis."
Example: I forget their names now / I'm so very tame now / Never be the same now, now (...Ready for It?)
Simile
A "figure of speech that directly compares two things" using "comparison words such as 'like', 'as', 'so', or 'than'."
Example: When I felt like I was an old cardigan / under someone's bed / you put me on and said I was your favorite (cardigan)
So next time you need inspiration, put on Taylor Swift!
Bye Bye Baby!