Most often, rhetorical questions are used to emphasize the significance of a statement and to draw the listener's or reader's attention to a specific issue. At the same time, the use of the interrogative form is a convention, because the answer to such a question is not expected or it is too obvious.

Being one of the means of expressiveness, rhetorical questions are widely used in literary texts. For example, they were often used in works Russian XIX century (“And who are the judges?”, “Who is to blame?”, “What?”). By resorting to these rhetorical figures, writers strengthened emotional coloring statements that made readers think about him.

Rhetorical questions have also found application in journalistic works. In them, in addition to strengthening the text, rhetorical questions help create the illusion of a conversation with the reader. Often the same technique is used in speeches and lectures, highlighting key phrases and involving the audience in thinking. Listening to a monologue, a person involuntarily draws special attention to statements pronounced with a questioning intonation, so this way of getting the audience interested is very effective. Sometimes the speaker uses not one, but a series of rhetorical questions, thus focusing the listeners' attention on the most important thing of the report or lecture.

In addition to rhetorical questions, both in writing and in oral speech rhetorical exclamations and rhetorical appeals are used. Just like in rhetorical questions, main role The intonation with which these phrases are pronounced plays a role here. Rhetorical exclamations and appeals also belong to the means of enhancing the expressiveness of the text and convey the emotions and feelings of the author.

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An address is a word or combination of words that names the addressee of speech. A distinctive feature of this construction is the grammatical form nominative case. In addition to defining an object, animate or inanimate, an address may contain an evaluative characteristic and express the speaker’s attitude towards the addressee. To establish the role of words naming the one to whom speech is addressed, it is necessary to find out what features this construction may “possess.”

Most often, proper names, names of persons according to degree of relationship, position in society, position, rank, and relationships between people act as addresses. Less often, names of animals, names of inanimate objects or natural phenomena, usually personified in the latter case, are used as addresses. For example:
- “You know, Shurochka, I have to tell you something.” The role of address is a proper name.
- “My brother! I’m so glad to see you!” The address names the person according to the degree of relationship.
- “Where did you take me?” The word "ocean" is a naming inanimate object. Such constructions are used in artistic speech, making it figurative and expressive.

In oral speech, the address is formalized intonationally. For this purpose they are used different types intonation.
Vocative intonation is characterized by increased stress and the presence of a pause after the address. IN writing such intonation of a comma or exclamation mark. (My friend, let’s dedicate our souls to our homeland with wonderful impulses!)
Exclamatory intonation is usually used in rhetorical address, calling poetic artistic image. (Fly, memories!)
The intonation of introduction is characterized by a lower tone and a fast pace of pronunciation. (I’m terribly glad, Varenka, that you came to see me.)

If in colloquial speech The main function of addresses is to give a name to the addressee of speech, but in fiction they perform stylistic functions and are carriers of expressive-evaluative meanings. (“Where are you going, you thieving mug?”; “Good, beloved, we are far from each other.”)

The metaphorical nature of poetic addresses also determines the features of their syntax. For example, in artistic speech, common and homogeneous appeals are often used (Hear me, good one, hear me, my evening dawn, unquenchable.) They often give the speech intimacy and special lyricism. (Are you still alive, my old lady?)

Please note that the grammatical form of the address coincides with the subject and application. They should not be confused: the subject and the clause are members of the sentence and the question is asked about them. An address is a construction that is not grammatically connected with other members of the sentence, therefore it does not fulfill a syntactic role and the question is not posed to it. Compare:
"Her dreams were always romantic." The word “dreams” is the subject of the sentence.
“Dreams, dreams, where is your sweetness?” This is a syntactic construction.

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Expressive techniques are often used in oratory and artistic speech to attract the listener’s attention and to emphasize speech. These are both structural and semantic accents, and intonation features, and syntactic. One of the most common expressive means is rhetorical question.

Definition.

Rhetorical question- This an interrogative sentence construction that conveys a certain message in the same way as a narrative sentence. That is, it does not require an answer to the question posed.

In a rhetorical question, there is a certain contradiction between the given syntactic form - the interrogative structure itself - and the meaning, content.

The message that a rhetorical question contains is associated with the desire to express certain emotions and moods, to set a specific tone. A rhetorical question implies a ready-made answer that is understandable to the reader/listener.

Rhetorical questions are used in:

• literary texts: poetic and prose,
• journalism and media,
• oratory.

Usually there is a protest embedded in a rhetorical question. For example, Alexander Griboyedov in “Woe from Wit” asks the question: “Who are the judges?” – the answer to which involves denying the right of those around the protagonist to judge his actions.

Examples of rhetorical questions.

In texts and speeches, questions with:

• a pronominal question word (“And what Russian doesn’t like driving fast?” – Nikolai Gogol),
• an interrogative particle, without special interrogative words (“I am writing to you - what more? What else can I say?” - Alexander Pushkin).

As a rule, at the end of a rhetorical question in writing a question mark is used, less often an exclamation mark:

• Vladimir Mayakovsky: “Where, when, which great one chose the path to be more trodden and easier?”
• Alexander Pushkin: “Whoever cursed stationmasters, who hasn’t scolded them!”

It is possible to place a double sign.

The role of rhetorical questions in the poem “Evening Reflection.”

What does it mean when a rhetorical question appears in a text? It involves the work of the reader's thoughts. Thus, literary scholars note the serious role of the use of rhetorical question in Mikhail Lomonosov’s poem “Evening Reflection”:

“But where, nature, is your law?” – the answer is assumed to be that it does not exist.
“The dawn rises from the midnight lands!
Isn’t it the sun who sets his throne there?” – the sun always rises in the morning and this is obvious, no answer is required.

“How can it be that frozen steam
Did a fire start in the middle of winter? – it is assumed that this cannot happen.
“Ignorance of the creatures is the end for you?
Tell me, how great is the creator?” – here one can see the ideology of deism inherent in Lomonosov.

The rhetorical question is how an effective oratorical device is used to persuade or attract attention. But how can you learn to ask it correctly so as not to get into awkward situations? We will tell you about all the subtleties of using this rhetorical figure.

What is a rhetorical question

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

People tend to make mistakes. – Is it common for people to make mistakes?

If illness comes, the person needs to be treated. – Do you need to be treated when an illness comes?

Such an address assumes that all recipients know the answer in advance, so they will not speak their thoughts out loud. But consciousness will still respond, creating an internal image and a flow of associations. The illusion of conversation and dialogue makes listeners involved, although in reality everyone can remain in their own comfort zone.

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

This stylistic figure has the following functions:

• Emphasize expressiveness;
• Give the saying an emotional coloring;
• Pay attention to the speaker;
• Transport yourself to a specific event or place;
• Arouse curiosity about yourself or your performance;
• Engage in conversation;
• Place 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 more softly than an order.

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

• Negative. They deny some events or phenomena, although the particle “not” is missing 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 increase confidence in their rightness. They are characterized by categoricalness, pronounced emotionality, assertiveness, and 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:

Are you feeling bad?

You did the right thing. Who would like that?

Doesn't the boss understand that you are also a living person?

• Cynicism, provocation, sarcasm:

How can you be so slack?

Do you think you're the only one like that?

And what will be your next mistake?

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

• If the phrase is "pulled" from literary work, it is necessary to consider it 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 catchphrases. It is there that their origin is told and examples are given where it is appropriate to use this figure of speech.
• Reinvent 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 correctly

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

• Think about what idea this figure should convey and how to influence the listener.
• Make sure that in this communicative situation it will be possible to avoid ambiguity and misunderstanding.
• Make the question as short as possible by removing unnecessary, unclear, distracting or overly complex words.
• To attract the attention of the audience and bring it out of its state of rest, this rhetorical figure should be used at the beginning of the speech.
• To summarize, it should be used at the end of the monologue.
• Such questions are appropriate to use next to other historical figures of speech: exclamation and appeal.
• All turns require clear and correct pronunciation, a confident voice, as well as accompanying with appropriate facial expressions and gestures.

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

When a rhetorical question is asked

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

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

You will not make a person love reading if you do not awaken an interest in literature. Will he not drink if he is not thirsty?

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

Who is to blame for this?

What to do?

Rhetorical question - Churchill's secret weapon

British state and politician Winston Churchill went down in history as a master of rhetoric, thinker, writer, and journalist. His performances were a stunning success, influencing the course of history. The word became a real weapon for him, evoking the common sense of a large 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, after reading the “list of damage caused,” he stated that he could 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 did not take long. The senators, politicians, and journalists present rose from their chairs and burst into applause. This rhetorical question posed by Churchill in right time, said more than the hours-long speeches of other congressmen.

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

A rhetorical question can become powerful weapon any speaker if he learns to use it. It's not difficult if you remember a few important rules, follow our recommendations and take into account Churchill’s secret.

Often in oral and written speech, as well as when creating works of art, rhetorical questions are used, examples of which will be given below. Their purpose is to draw attention to the statement, to emphasize it. The peculiarity of such questions is that they do not need an answer. Let's take a closer look at this method of expressiveness.

Terminology

In the science of language, a rhetorical question is understood as an interrogative sentence that does not require an answer. It often happens that the answer is impossible. The purpose of this technique is varied:

• it allows you to focus the attention of the listener or reader on what is important to the author;
• draws attention to the problem discussed in the text;
• achieves special stylistic expressiveness.

These types of sentences add emotionality and expression to the work, help express the author’s feelings, and evoke empathy in the reader.

Peculiarities

Here are examples of rhetorical questions that will help identify their characteristic features:

• "Who is to blame?" (Herzen).
• "What to do?" (Chernyshevsky).
• “Which Russian doesn’t like driving fast?” (Gogol).
• “How can you not love your native spaces?” (from speech).

As you can see, each sentence is an interrogative construction. At the end of it there is not a period, but a question mark, but the answer is either embedded in the question itself or is absent in principle.

Thus, Chernyshevsky in his novel “What is to be done?” I tried to find the answer in several hundred pages, but the question still remained open.

Another example is Gogol’s work “What Russian doesn’t like driving fast?” In this case, the implied answer is that every truly Russian person loves to ride with the breeze, to rush at high speed.

One more feature of such constructions can be noted - they express meaning, just like declarative sentence. They are often used to express irony. Here are examples from the speech:

• “Well, who does that?”
• “And who is this talking to us?”
• “Where is Africa?”
• “And when will you finally come to your senses?”

These questions do not require an answer, so the key feature of a rhetorical question is the contrast between form and content. The main purpose of such structures is to express a certain mood.

Use in texts

Many classics actively use rhetorical questions in their works. Examples are:

• “Oh Volga!. . my cradle! Has anyone ever loved you like I do?” (from a poem by Nekrasov).
• "Guys! Isn’t Moscow behind us?” (from “Borodino” by Lermontov).
• “Rus, where are you going?” (Gogol, from Dead Souls).
• “Was there a boy?” (from Gorky’s work “The Life of Klim Samgin”).

Many rhetorical questions have become catchphrases. For example:

• “Who are the judges?” - this phrase from the comedy “Woe from Wit” by Griboyedov is often used in cases where an assessment of an object or phenomenon is given by biased people, who themselves are no better than the person being condemned.
• “To be or not to be?” - Many people ask Hamlet’s question if they are at a crossroads and are forced to make an important decision for themselves.

These are examples of rhetorical questions from literature. Often masters of words manage to convey their thoughts so succinctly in such a structure that it becomes in demand and relevant for many centuries.

In the everyday sense

Let's look at examples of rhetorical questions from life:

• “Are you a fool or what?” - expression of insult.
• “Will you ever start doing your homework on time?” - motivation to action.
• “So who are you after that?” - extreme disapproval, amazement, resentment.
• “Can’t you really see what you did wrong?” - it is emphasized that the person being asked the question knows that he did not try.
• “How long will we tolerate this outrage?” - a call to rebellion, rebellion.

Often people themselves do not realize that they use rhetorical questions in their speech, examples of which are given below. A few more common situations:

• “And when will our wages finally be raised?” - the speaker complains about the low level of wages, but does not address anyone in particular.
• "What could be more beautiful fresh air and cycling? - it is assumed that nothing. The design expresses the author's admiration.

• “How can you not want to learn?” - amazement, bewilderment, misunderstanding.
• “And what does this person expect?” - expression of disapproval.
• “What should we do?” - a cry of despair.

As you can see, there are many examples of rhetorical questions in the Russian language. Each of them carries a certain emotional connotation, helping to more accurately express one’s emotions - admiration, amazement, condemnation, anger, etc.

Difference from simple questions

Let's look at how to quickly distinguish such constructions from ordinary interrogative sentences when analyzing text:

• they are not addressed to anyone in particular;
• imply a ready answer or the impossibility of one;
• help express the thoughts and feelings of the author;
• Often they contain protest.

Here is an example of a rhetorical question and a simple interrogative sentence:

• “Who are the judges?”
• “Who will be the judge at this meeting?”

The first sentence is a rhetorical question, it is not addressed to anyone in particular, and does not need to be answered. In context, he conveys the contempt of the hero Chatsky and the author - Griboedov - for those people who undertake to judge without being ideal themselves.

The second sentence is a common question that might be asked of a specific person. Its author does not express any attitude, he would simply like to know the name of the judge.

Form

In order for rhetorical questions, examples of which were given above, to best express the emotional mood of the author, wordsmiths often put them in a special form:

• the sentence can be very succinct and brief (“What to do?”, “Who is to blame?”);
• pronominal question words are used (“And who has it easy now?”, “What girl would refuse a chic bouquet?”);
• they use interrogative particles (“Can I not be sure?”, “Did anyone doubt it?”).

Sometimes at the end of such constructions there is not an ordinary question mark, but an exclamation mark. Let's give an example from the story by A.S. Pushkin’s “Station Warden”: “Whoever cursed the station guards, whoever scolded them!” This rhetorical question ends with an exclamation mark, although in the form of construction, the sentence is clearly interrogative.

Rhetorical questions, examples of which were given earlier, are actively used both in everyday communication and in literary texts. They help make speech more expressive and convey the author’s mood.

Rhetorical question- a rhetorical figure representing a question to which the answer is known in advance, or a question to which the person asking himself gives the answer. A rhetorical question can also be considered a question whose answer is extremely obvious. In any case, an interrogative statement implies a very definite, well-known answer, so a rhetorical question is, in fact, a statement expressed in interrogative form.

A rhetorical question is used to enhance the expressiveness (emphasis, emphasis) of a particular phrase. Characteristic feature These turns of phrase is a convention, that is, the use of the grammatical form and intonation of a question in cases that, in essence, do not require it.

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

Can I see beauty in the new shine of a faded dream? Can I again clothe the nakedness with the cover of a familiar life? Zhukovsky V.A.

Obviously, the meaning of these phrases is to assert the impossibility of returning “dreams of faded beauty,” etc.; the question is a conditional rhetorical turn. But thanks to the form of the question, the author’s attitude towards the phenomenon in question becomes much more expressive and emotionally charged.

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 given to it, thereby expressing the attitude towards this phenomenon, for example:

Swing! Takeoff! Shuttle, go! The shaft turns around! Drive whirlwind long! Don't be late! Bryusov V.Ya.

Here the words “wave”, “take-off”, as well as the words departure and arrival, so to speak, stating the movement of machines, are given with exclamations expressing the feelings with which the poet observes these machines, although in these words themselves, in their immediate meaning, there is no reason for exclamatory intonation.

In the same example we also find a rhetorical appeal, that is, again a conditional appeal to objects that in essence cannot be addressed (“Shuttle, scoot!”, 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 unique syntactic constructions that convey a certain elation and pathosity of the narrative.

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 land your hooves?” (Pushkin)