Meaning of epiplexis | Babel Free

Definitions

A rhetorical device where a sequence of rhetorical questions is used to criticise or blame, or more generally, to elicit an emotional response.

rhetoric

Examples

“Afterwards, questioners employ the rhetorical figure called epiplexis. This interrogative figure is designed to blame the addressee, posing trick questions whose goal is to reveal whatever the speaker considers to be his or her faults. Epiplexis is backed up by cataplexis.”

“Remember also to structure epiplexes with one of the patterns for figures with multiple elements we met in chapter three. Repeated rhetorical questions can move from general to specific, from short to long, from broad to narrow, but should always unpack like Russian dolls.”

CEFR level