Plain statement, shaped statement
A rhetorical figure changes the shape of a sentence, not its content. The plain version informs; the shaped version is remembered. That is why figures belong where people listen or skim: a toast, the last slide of a talk, the final paragraph of an op-ed, a slogan.
The same point, twice
Wir haben lange gewartet und oft nachgefragt, aber nichts erreicht.
We waited a long time and asked often, but achieved nothing.
plain: correct and forgettable
Wir haben gewartet. Wir haben gefragt. Wir haben nichts erreicht.
We waited. We asked. We got nowhere.
anaphora and a tricolon: the third beat lands
Four figures
Figure, pattern, effect
| What it is | Pattern | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| three parallel members | A, B und C, ideally growing in length | completeness, a sense of ending |
| the same opening, repeated | Wir … Wir … Wir … | insistence, rhythm |
| two opposites side by side | A ist x, B ist y | sharp contrast, a verdict |
| crossed order | A B, B' A' | balance, a quotable line |
One of each
Es geht um Zeit, um Geld und um das Vertrauen unserer Kunden.
This is about time, about money and about the trust of our customers.
Trikolon: the longest member comes last
Jeder kennt das Problem. Jeder hat eine Meinung. Jeder wartet, dass ein anderer anfängt.
Everyone knows the problem. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone is waiting for someone else to start.
Anapher
Die Kosten sind real, der Nutzen ist hypothetisch.
The costs are real; the benefit is hypothetical.
Antithese
Wir leben nicht, um zu arbeiten, wir arbeiten, um zu leben.
We don't live to work, we work to live.
Chiasmus
What German word order gives you
English needs a fixed subject-verb-object order, so a chiasmus usually has to swap whole clauses. In German, almost anything can stand before the verb, so you cross two elements simply by moving one into the Vorfeld (the slot before the conjugated verb). Goethe's Faust does exactly this: lang and kurz trade places around the nouns.
Crossing with the Vorfeld
Die Kunst ist lang, und kurz ist unser Leben.
Art is long, and short is our life.
after Goethe, Faust I: noun-adjective, then adjective-noun
Groß war die Hoffnung, die Enttäuschung war größer.
The hope was great; the disappointment was greater.
Where figures belong
Fitting or overdone
Works
The opening or closing line of a speech or toast.
The last paragraph of a commentary.
One line on a slide that should stick.
Backfires
Minutes, reports, emails about logistics.
Two figures in the same paragraph: the second cancels the first.
Bad news to individuals: rhetoric sounds like a performance.
