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Rhetorical correction

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A device in which a speaker revises a prior statement immediately, adding nuance, correction, or self-awareness for rhetorical effect.

Detailed Definition
Rhetorical correction, or metanoia, is a figure of speech in which a poet immediately revises or qualifies a prior statement for emphasis or precision (e.g., “I loved him—no, I worshipped him”); this self-interruption heightens emotional intensity, reveals inner conflict, or sharpens thematic focus through staged reconsideration.
Example
Example in poetry:
Using the figure of speech epanorthosis, where the speaker corrects a previous statement with a stronger or more precise one: "This is a good poem—nay, a masterpiece."; "I meant to say a quiet stream—no, a raging torrent is what I saw."; "He was happy, or rather, he felt a momentary respite from sorrow."; A poet writes a line, then uses a dash or a comma to interject a phrase that revises the emotional intensity of the preceding statement.
Additional Notes
Rhetorical correction (or epanorthosis) is a figure of speech where a speaker/poet retracts or modifies a statement just made, often to intensify or refine the meaning (e.g., "It was a wonderful-no, a marvelous day"); it suggests a moment of passionate re-evaluation.
Also Known As
Rhetorical repair corrective figure verbal correction Anorthosis Episkein Correctio
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