Diction and Devices: Metaphor, Analogy, Rhetorical Questions and Register

Remember from Grade 10

In Grade 10 you chose precise diction and appropriate terminology, used devices for the ear (anaphora, tricolon, antithesis, chiasmus, allusion) and practised inclusive language. Grade 11 adds devices that work through comparison and questioning: metaphor and extended metaphor, analogy, rhetorical questions and hypophora. You'll also adjust your register for formal situations such as a mock interview, and choose diction that evokes a character in a role play. The Grade 11 question is always: Why is this word or device suitable in this context?

Let's start with two openings

Two students begin a speech to the school about joining the environment club.

• Speaker A: "The environment club does a lot of things to help the environment. You should join."
• Speaker B: "Our school throws away a mountain every year, one lunch bag at a time. What if we started climbing it down?"

Speaker B uses a metaphor (waste as a mountain), a vivid detail (one lunch bag at a time) and a rhetorical question. In 21 words, listeners can see the problem and feel invited into the solution.

Metaphor and extended metaphor

A metaphor describes one thing as another ("Our school throws away a mountain"). An extended metaphor continues the comparison through several sentences or a whole speech: the mountain can be climbed down, one step at a time, until we reach the bottom.

Why use one in a speech? Listeners can't reread, so an image they can picture helps them remember an abstract idea. But choose metaphors that suit the context: a war metaphor ("battle," "enemy," "attack") may feel wrong in a speech about mental health or a community disagreement, because it frames people as opponents.

Analogy

An analogy explains something unfamiliar by comparing it, point by point, to something familiar. "Your immune system is like a security team: it learns what intruders look like and remembers them." Analogies are powerful for explanation. But every analogy breaks somewhere. When an analogy is used as proof rather than explanation, and the two things are too different, it becomes a false analogy.

Rhetorical questions and hypophora

• A rhetorical question is asked for effect, not for an answer: "How many more winters will we wait for a safe crosswalk?" It engages listeners by making them think the answer themselves.
• Hypophora is asking a question and then answering it yourself: "Why does this matter? Because every one of us crosses that road." It lets you voice the audience's likely question and control the answer.
• In a discussion, an open question can spark talk: "What would this novel be like if it were told by the sister?"

Use sparingly. Three rhetorical questions in a row can sound like a sales pitch.

Register: from casual to formal

Register is the level of formality in your language. In formal oral situations (a mock interview, a seminar, a speech to a community group) use standard Canadian English: conventional grammar, precise vocabulary, and no slang. That doesn't mean stiff or fancy; it means clear and appropriate. Standard Canadian English includes words and pronunciations common in Canada, such as washroom and the letter z said as zed.

Diction that evokes a character

In a role play, a mock interview in character, or a dramatic monologue, your word choice tells the audience who you are. Think about the character's:

• era (a Victorian aristocrat wouldn't say "okay"),
• status and attitude (commanding, nervous, sarcastic),
• favourite words or phrases that recur.

For example, Oscar Wilde's Lady Bracknell speaks in confident, formal pronouncements: short, absolute statements that admit no disagreement.