1. Home
  2. Education
  3. Ancient / Classical History
Linguistic devices, figures of speech, and rules of classical rhetoric -- and Roman orators.
Cicero Home Page
If you want to know about the world's most famous orator, go here. Everything you want to know is there! Graphics, translations, texts, bios, etc.
Donatus, de tropis
Thirteen types of tropes metaphor, catachresis, metalepsis, metonymy, antonomasia, epitheton, synecdoche, onomatopoeia, periphrasis, hyperbaton, hyperbole, allegory, and homoeosis.
Forest of Rhetoric
An online rhetorical guide to both classical and renaissance rhetoric. This silva rhetoricae has many great examples!
Errors
From Donatus, 12 types of errors: barbarism, solecism, acyrologia, cacemphaton, pleonasm, perissology, macrology, tautology, eclipse, tapinosis, cacosyntheton, and amphiboly
General Bibliography
One hundred-forty item bibliography on Rhetoric from Greek 701: Prose Style at CUNY. Modern and ancient authorities cited.
Greek Sentence Structure
Although the author eschews trope collecting. next time an editor inserts unnecessary words, use this site to justify your isokolon and kommata.
Isocrates: Against the Sophists
The text in English, from the Perseus project begins by criticizing educators for making vain promises.
Linguistic Phenomena/Devices
Twenty-seven lesser known but commonly used terms, including aphaeresis, diaeresis, hendiadys, litotes, and pleonasm.
Silva Rhetoricae
The forest of rhetoric includes "trees" on Situation (kairos and decorum), Appeals, Branches of Oratory, Canons, Ability, Pedagogy, and General Strategies, using clear historical examples.
Linguistic Devices
A list of some of the lesser known linguistic devices used in writing.

Explore Ancient / Classical History

More from About.com

  1. Home
  2. Education
  3. Ancient / Classical History
  4. Latin / Ancient Writing
  5. Languages & Linguistics
  6. Writing
  7. Rhetoric

©2008 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.