In our lexicon, such a concept as a rhetorical question has long been entrenched. This is created to give it richness and expressiveness. AT modern world This term most often means a question that does not require an answer. Let's try to understand everything in more detail.

Rhetorical question- This affirmative sentence, which is only dressed in an inquiring form. In such statements, the truth often sounds, which there is no need to prove. These can be both dogmas that have long been familiar to everyone (“And what Russian does not like fast driving?” - N.V. Gogol), and statements addressed to a specific case or person (“Who would ever think that a prisoner decides to run away during the day, in front of the eyes of the entire prison?” - M. Gorky). As a rule, in order to put an appropriate punctuation mark at the end of such expressive phrases, they are arranged according to the principle of a question.

Delving into such a science as etymology (she studies, one can say that a rhetorical question is an expression of expression. It is necessary to give additional colors to our speech, to create one or another effect.

The fact is that the root of the very word "rhetorical" is the term "rhetoric". And it is directly related to eloquence and oratory. You can figure out how to understand a rhetorical question by carefully listening to the speeches of politicians, actors and diplomats.

As a rule, this form of speech is often used in order to convince the interlocutor or certain group people in anything. A rhetorical question is an opportunity to make a person think that the thing being asserted is obvious, and it is worth understanding and accepting it. Often he “rescues” in family quarrels, for example, when a husband tries to prove his loyalty to his wife (“Do you really think that I could come to our restaurant with another lady?”), And he is also a very effective political device that allows you to persuade to allegiance to a particular party or candidate most people.

Understanding what a rhetorical question means in literature is even easier. It is enough to cite as an example the famous letter of Tatyana Larina, which begins with the words: “I am writing to you - what more? What more can I say? The ingenious used this to make the heroine's statement more emotional, expressive and intriguing. Similar examples both in Russian and in foreign classics there are a lot. We often do not notice this, but it is thanks to this simple technique that learning poetry and even prose becomes much easier.

As it turned out, a rhetorical question is something that each of us has to deal with all the time. It is indispensable as colloquial speech, and in advertising, literature, politics. Well, if you delve into the study of rhetoric and eloquence, then you can easily use it to attract as many as possible the right people into your life.

Most effective remedy conveying ideas to the audience - engaging it in a dialogue. A lot of oratorical means have been invented for this, but each of them is good for its own situation. Anyone who dares to speak to the public should know what a rhetorical question means and how to ask it correctly.

Figures of speech and rhetoric

Without the use of beautiful and figurative speech turns the narrative looks "empty" and difficult to understand. To add color to your unbridled stream of thoughts, you can apply tricks known to the ancient Greeks:

• Changing the order of words in a sentence characteristic of a given language;
• Contrasting one thought with another;
• The use of a similar composition at the beginning or end of several sentences. A peculiar grammatical refrain;
• Hierarchical arrangement of words in a sentence as they become stronger lexical meaning sign;
• Intentional omission of a required word;
• Dot separation of words in a sentence;
• The use of words with a similar or, conversely, opposite meaning;
• Own linguistic inventions;
• The use in one context of incompatible definitions;
• Figurative "revival" of an object of inanimate nature;
• Deliberate exaggeration or understatement (most often used in satire);
• Asking questions that don't need to be answered.

Definition of figures of speech

A rhetorical question is one that is essentially a statement and does not require a response from the interlocutor. From a grammatical point of view, there is an opposition between the interrogative form and the narrative meaning of the construction.

By using this figure of speech in his text, the author implies that the answer is too simple and obvious to answer. Or, on the contrary, that it is too complicated and cannot have a monosyllabic solution. This achieves the transfer of the mood of the writer and giving the narrative an emotional coloring.

This figure is most often used in the following areas:

• Prose and poetry;
• Journalism;
• Texts on social topics;
• Politicians' speeches.

How to understand a rhetorical question?

It is not uncommon for a situation where the listener cannot grasp the essence of the speaker's verbal acrobatics.

To resolve misunderstandings, you can use the following tips:

1. Note context. It is he who plays a decisive role in understanding the meaning of the phrase. If the proposal was torn out of any literary work, you need to familiarize yourself with its content. You also need to make an adjustment for the era in which the writer or politician lived. Social injustice has often been attacked by wordsmiths;
2. Try to turn the meaning of the phrase inside out. One of the goals of the statements formulated in interrogative form- turn the familiar situation 180 degrees. For example: "Are we slaves?" ("We are not slaves.");
3. A significant part of rhetorical questions and exclamations have long become vivid catch phrases. Therefore, to clarify their meaning, you can refer to the dictionary of phraseological units and idioms. There you can get help not only regarding the meaning of the sentence, but also etymological data.

Can you end your essay with a rhetorical question?

Conclusion for school essay is one of essential elements his compositions. It draws a line under the work of the student and is the logical conclusion of his reasoning on the problem in the work. As well as introductory part, the conclusion should not break away from the flow of the main text of the work.

Basic rules for good ending compositions:

• The number of sentences in the last paragraph should not be more than 5-6, otherwise the perception of information will be difficult;
• Ask yourself the question: is it worth agreeing with the position of the author. Conditionally break original text on theses and reflect on which of them are worth supporting and which are not;
• If the student does not agree with the original text on almost all points, then it is worth restraining yourself from frantic and emotional criticism. Every assertion must be supported by reasonable arguments;
• You should try to make the ending as positive as possible;
• It is not worth repeating the ideas already stated in the essay.

One of the most effective ways to put an end to the work is a rhetorical question. He can challenge an imaginary opponent to an argument and generalize the judgment in the best possible way. It is even better if the figure is a classic aphorism related to the problematics of the text.

Rhetorical question: examples

• Interrogative-rhetorical. Their main purpose is an expressive assessment of what is happening. Thus, a person conveys his individual and emotional attitude to the subject of conversation “How did I forget to put money on the phone?” );
• Incentives. In essence, they have a command and imperative purpose, but have an abstract wording ( “When will you finally stop doing this?” );
• Negative. Despite their name, they lack negative particle"not". By using this figure, the impossibility of any event or phenomenon is indicated. For example, William Shakespeare wrote: “Here was Caesar: can you wait for another?” (i.e., there will never be a person with such qualities);
• Affirmative. Unlike the previous type, on the contrary, they are designed to strengthen the affirmative message of what was said ( "How can you not love the ocean?" ).

In a sarcastic context, the original meaning literary devices may shift slightly. A question that is negative in form can acquire positive value, and vice versa. For example: “The police are again demanding bribes. Who would have thought?".

Wording rules

Consider the basic rules of use this technique in the field":

1. Analyze all possible facts that may be relevant to the problem;
2. Examine your own and others' feelings about a particular situation;
3. Decide what exactly the average person wants or should want;
4. Consider obstacles and barriers on the way to what you want;
5. How much time is needed to implement the plan;
6. The tools you need to reach your goal.

Rhetorical questions should be built as many times as possible, but at the same time semantic load should be high. They can be set both at the beginning of a speech (to bring the audience out of a state of rest), and at the end (to sum up what was said vividly). The positive reaction of listeners to a correctly formulated construction looks like a thoughtful silence.

How can you not know what a rhetorical question means? After all, it is not only a part school curriculum but also a whole layer of culture. "To be or not to be?" Shakespeare, "What is to be done?" Chernyshevsky, “Who are the judges?” Griboyedov - all these statements do not require an answer, since they in themselves make millions of people think about pressing problems.

Video about rhetorical figures

In this video, philologist Georgy Kadetov will talk about rhetorical figures and questions, syntactic strategies:

Rhetorical question, how effective oratory is used to convince or attract attention. But how to learn how to ask it correctly, so as not to get into awkwardness? We will talk about all the intricacies of using this rhetorical figure.

What is a rhetorical question

A rhetorical question is a turn of speech that, having the form of a question, does not require an answer. In fact, this is a statement with an interrogative intonation, which easily turns into a regular sentence.

People tend to err. - Do people make mistakes?

If a disease comes, a person needs to be treated. - Do I need to be treated when the disease comes?

Such an appeal assumes that all addressees know the answer in advance, so they will not speak their thoughts out loud. But consciousness will still respond by creating internal image and the flow of associations. The illusion of conversation and dialogue keeps listeners involved, when in reality everyone can stay in their comfort zone.

Most often, a rhetorical question is found in prose and poetry, journalism, articles on public issues, political speeches and debates.

This stylistic figure has the following features:

• Emphasize expressiveness;
• To betray the saying of emotional coloring;
• pay attention to the speaker;
• Fast forward to certain event or place;
• To arouse curiosity about yourself or your performance;
• Engage in conversation;
• Put emphasis on contrast, opposites;
• Quote, mention a celebrity, referring to her experience.

What are rhetorical questions

• Interrogative-rhetorical. A person formulates a phrase in such a way as to give an emotional assessment of what is happening, to express a personal attitude:

How could I forget my phone at home? (condemnation of one's own confusion, character traits).

• Incentives. They have a mentoring character, calling for action, but are formulated softer than an order.

Aren't you going to lie down on your top shelf yet? (a polite but sharp request to move to your seat on the train).

• Negative. They deny some events or phenomena, although the “not” particle is absent in their structure.

I was once 18 years old: can I turn back time? (regret about the past, awareness of the fact that youth cannot be returned).

• Affirmative. They reinforce self-righteousness. They are characterized by categoricalness, pronounced emotionality, assertiveness, sometimes even arrogance.

How can you dress like that? (negligence, condemnation appearance another person).

Are there really people who don't like chocolate? (confidence that everyone should love chocolate, surprise with a bit of irony).

A rhetorical question can carry both a negative and a positive message:

• Empathy, care, support:

You feels bad?

You did the right thing. Who would love it?

Does the chief not understand that you are also a living person?

• Cynicism, provocation, sarcasm:

How can you be so lax?

Do you think these are the only ones?

And what will be your next miss?

Everyone has their own perception of the world, so it is not surprising that the figure of speech heard will seem incomprehensible. In this case, it is worth taking the time to accurately understand the meaning that the sayings carry.

• If the phrase is “extracted” from a literary work, it must be considered in the context of the era in which the author lived, the image of the hero, as well as the main idea of ​​the text itself.
• Majority open questions have become idioms, you can find them in the dictionary of phraseological units and winged expressions. It is there that they are told about their origin, examples are given where it is appropriate to use this figure of speech.
• Modify the appeal so that it becomes a statement: "Am I my own enemy?" (“I am not my own enemy”).
• Consider portable or hidden meaning. Often, the speaker, using a variety of stylistic figures, tries to veil the essence so as not to seem too banal.

How and where to use a rhetorical question

Before using a rhetorical question, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the features of its formulation:

• Think about what idea this figure should convey, how to influence the listener.
• Make sure that in this communicative situation it will be possible to avoid ambiguity, misunderstanding.
• Shorten the question as much as possible by removing unnecessary, incomprehensible, distracting or overly complex words from it.
• To attract the attention of the audience and bring it out of a state of rest, then this rhetorical figure must be used at the beginning of a speech.
• To summarize, it should be used at the end of the monologue.
• It is appropriate to use such questions next to other itorical figures of speech: exclamation and appeal.
• All turnovers require a clear and correct pronunciation, confident voice, as well as accompaniment with appropriate facial expressions and gestures.

A correctly formulated stylistic figure is remembered for a long time, prompts reflection and causes a pause in the form of thoughtful silence from the audience. If this happens, success has been achieved.

When asking a rhetorical question

Most often, a rhetorical question is posed in two cases:

• When the answer to it is too obvious, and the communicator only needs to be pushed to conclusions or reflections.

You won't make a person love reading if you don't awaken an interest in literature. Will he not drink if he is not thirsty?

• When the answer to a question is not known to anyone or it does not exist at all.

Who is to blame?

What to do?

Rhetorical question - Churchill's secret weapon

British State and political figure Winston Churchill went down in history as a master of rhetoric, thinker, writer, journalist. His speeches were a resounding success, influencing the course of history. The word became for him a real weapon, defiant common sense numerous audience.

In 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Mr. Churchill was invited to attend a meeting of the United Congress. During his speech, he, after reading the "list of damage", stated that he did not find a logical explanation for the actions of the Japanese and considered them people who had lost their minds. After a significant pause, the speaker asked:

What kind of people do you think they are?

The audience's reaction was not long in coming. The present senators, politicians, journalists rose from their chairs, bursting into applause. This rhetorical question posed by Churchill in right time, said more than many hours of speeches by other congressmen.

Churchill revealed the secret of his oratory: The technique of a strong rhetorical question can be used only once in a monologue. The necessary condition is this: it should sound simple and sharp. One line is the ideal length for this figure of speech.

A rhetorical question can be a powerful weapon for any speaker if he learns to use it. It's easy if you remember a few important rules, adhere to our recommendations and take into account Churchill's secret.

Rhetorical question- a rhetorical figure, which is a question, the answer to which is known in advance, or a question to which the questioner himself answers. Also, a rhetorical question can be considered a question, the answer to which is extremely obvious. In any case, an interrogative statement implies a well-defined, well-known answer, so a rhetorical question is, in fact, a statement expressed in an interrogative form.

A rhetorical question is used to enhance the expressiveness (highlight, underline) of a particular phrase. characteristic feature of these revolutions is a convention, that is, the use grammatical form and intonation of the question in cases that, in essence, do not require it.

A rhetorical question, as well as a rhetorical exclamation and a rhetorical appeal, are peculiar turns of speech that enhance its expressiveness, the so-called. figures (see). A distinctive feature of these turns is their convention, i.e., the use of interrogative, exclamatory, etc. intonation in cases that essentially do not require it, due to which the phrase in which these turns are used acquires a particularly emphasized connotation that enhances its expressiveness . So, R. v. is, in essence, a statement expressed only in an interrogative form, due to which the answer to such a question is already known in advance, for example:

Can I see beauty in the brilliance of the new Dream of faded beauty? Can I again clothe the nudity with the veil of a familiar life? Zhukovsky V.A.

It is obvious that the meaning of these phrases is the assertion of the impossibility of returning "the dreams of faded beauty", etc.; The question is a conditional rhetorical phrase. But due to the form of the question, the author's attitude to the phenomenon in question becomes much more expressive and emotionally colored.

A rhetorical exclamation has a similar conditional character, in which the exclamatory intonation does not follow from the meaning of the word or phrase, but is arbitrarily attached to it, thereby expressing the attitude towards this phenomenon, For example:

Swing! Takeoff! Shuttle, get down! Val turn around! Drive whirlwind length! Do not be late! Bryusov V.Ya.

Here the words “swing”, “takeoff”, as well as the words takeoff and flight, so to speak, ascertaining the movement of machines, are given with exclamations expressing the feelings with which the poet observes these machines, although in these words themselves, according to their immediate meaning for There is no reason for exclamatory intonation.

In the same example, we also find a rhetorical appeal, i.e., again a conditional appeal to objects that, in essence, cannot be addressed (“Shuttle, take off!” Etc.). The structure of such an appeal is the same as in a rhetorical question and a rhetorical exclamation.

Thus, all these rhetorical figures are peculiar syntactic constructions, conveying the well-known elation and pathos of the narration.

Examples of rhetorical questions

• To be or not to be?
• How long?
• Who is to blame and what to do?
• "Who are the judges?" (Griboyedov)
• "Where are you galloping, proud horse, and where will you lower your hooves?" (Pushkin)

With the concept of "rhetorical question" most of us are familiar not thanks to school lessons and knowledge of linguistics. No, this term, sometimes not fully understood, we often see in films and Everyday life. For example, the hero or heroine of the novel, in a conversation about love, the meaning of being and death, asking one of the "eternal" questions, ends the argument with the phrase: "You can not answer, this is a rhetorical question."

Many can also give examples of rhetorical questions taken from literature and cinema. Who does not know those who have become popular expressions: “What Russian does not like fast driving?”, - N.V. Gogol, or: “Who is to blame?” A. I. Herzen. In this article, we have collected a few more examples of rhetorical questions and tried to understand the theoretical and linguistic aspects of this figure.

What is a rhetorical question

A rhetorical question is one of the rhetorical figures of thought, along with rhetorical exclamation and appeal. The term implies such an organization of the statement in which the answer to the question posed is not required due to its popularity or obviousness. In other cases, the answer is given by the questioner himself.

The rhetorical question is a means artistic expressiveness, with the help of which the expressed idea is emphasized or distinguished from others. talking in simple terms, this is a question that is asked more in order to achieve some effect, and not to get an answer. His hallmark is a convention, manifested in the use of interrogative and exclamatory intonation in situations that, in essence, do not require it. Thanks to this technique, the phrase stands out, acquiring a particularly emphasized shade that enhances expressiveness.

A detailed definition of a rhetorical question is given in the Encyclopedia of the Russian Language, edited by Yu. N. Karaulov: “A rhetorical question is a sentence that is interrogative in structure, but conveys, like declarative sentence, message, about anything. Thus, in a rhetorical question, there is a contradiction between form (interrogative structure) and content (message meaning).

Varieties of rhetorical questions: interrogative-rhetorical, interrogative-incentive, interrogative-negative and interrogative-affirmative. In what cases they are used - read below.

Examples

Many examples of rhetorical questions, both known to everyone and not so much, can be found in the works of W. Shakespeare. Here, for example, are lines from Hamlet:

Is it not my duty to the one who destroyed

The honor of my mother and the life of my father,

He stood between the election and my hope,

With such deceit he threw the bait

To myself - isn't it the right thing to do

Give him back with this hand?

And more famous words from the same tragedy

To be or not to be, that is the question.

Is it worthy

Humble under the blows of fate

I must resist

And in mortal combat with a whole sea of ​​troubles

Do away with them?

Another great example from The Merchant of Venice:

Doesn't a Jew have eyes? Doesn't the Jew have hands, organs, limbs, feelings, attachments, passions? Doesn't the same food nourish him, doesn't the same weapon wound him, isn't he subject to the same ailments, don't the same medicines heal him, don't the same summer and winter keep him warm and cold, just like a Christian? If we are pricked, don't we bleed? If you tickle us, don't we laugh? If we are poisoned, don't we die?

A poetic rhetorical question from the Hollywood musical The Sound of Music:

What are we to do with Mary?

How to catch a cloud with a bait?

What are we to do with Mary?

How to hold a moonbeam ... in the palm of your hand?

The Russian language is also rich in examples of rhetorical questions. fiction. M. Yu. Lermontov wrote in Borodino:

And he said, his eyes sparkling:

"Guys! Isn't Moscow behind us?

Let's die near Moscow

How our brothers died!”

A. S. Pushkin's poem "Awakening" begins with a rhetorical question:

Dreams Dreams,

Where is your sweetness?

Prose example. In the story of A.P. Chekhov "Belated Flowers" there are the following lines:

...she was looking at the doctor, who made the strongest impression on her. Who is not affected by novelty? And Toporkov was too new for Marusya ...

And one more catchphrase from " dead souls» N. V. Gogol, no less famous:

Russia, where are you going?

Role in literature and speech

In the definition of the concept of "rhetorical question", in fact, it is said what role it plays. It is put not to get an answer, but to draw the attention of the reader or listener to what is important in this moment. M. V. Lomonosov wrote in Rhetoric that a rhetorical question “is not for testing the unknown, but for the strongest depiction of known things.” Often this is due to the need to convey various emotionally expressive meanings. It is used in fiction, journalistic and scientific texts, as well as in ; as a means of expressiveness, it is inherent in poetic and, and is also used to enhance a dramatic or comic effect.

The 4 types of rhetorical questions we talked about above haunt different goals. So, interrogative-rhetorical questions are designed to help convey the speaker's feelings, such as sadness, joy, doubt, reflection, etc. For example: How did I not notice how life passed by?

Interrogative-motivational are needed for an invitation to action. Example: Are you finally done with your homework?

Interrogative-negative rhetorical questions serve to emotionally express the impossibility of an action, event, state. However, their structure does not contain negative words: What could be better than a warm summer evening?

Interrogative-affirmative ones are used for statements with a touch of inevitability, certainty: How can you not love your country?

As you can see, the rhetorical question is used not only in literature, but also in oral speech, and not only as artistic medium, and how. In particular, speakers can use a rhetorical question to increase the impact on the audience, highlight some thought and summarize. by the most simple example can serve as a speech by a politician, during which he, proclaiming his program, asks a question like: “How long do we have to wait for the necessary reforms? or “How much can you endure constant increase prices?" The role of the rhetorical question as a manipulative technique is also manifested here.

It also happens that, having started talking, the author loses the thread of the speech or cannot quickly remember the continuation of the speech. “In order to somehow fill the pause that has arisen, he can ask the audience a rhetorical question,” advises S. Shipunov in his book “ Charismatic Orator”. And while single statements are heard from the seats, and the audience nods its head in approval, there is time to reorganize and continue.