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Rhetorical question

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 question posed not for an answer but to emphasize a point, provoke thought, or heighten emotional or rhetorical impact.

Detailed Definition
A rhetorical question is a poetic device in which a question is posed not to elicit an answer but to assert a point, provoke thought, or heighten emotional impact; it often implies its own answer and functions as a persuasive or dramatic tool within the poem’s argument or mood.
Example
Example in poetry:
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 opens with the rhetorical question “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” to assert poetic superiority; In “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” Keats asks “What men or gods are these?” knowing the urn cannot answer, deepening mystery; Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—” implies the rhetorical question: What comes after death?; In “Harlem,” Hughes’s “Does it explode?” is a rhetorical question warning of social unrest; Contemporary poet Danez Smith asks “What’s the use of a mouth if not to say no?” as rhetorical question challenging silence.
Additional Notes
Rhetorical question: A question asked not for an answer but for persuasive or dramatic effect (e.g., “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”); engages readers and underscores emotion or logic.
Other Meanings of “Rhetorical question”
Also Known As
Unanswered question Rhetorical query Non-question question Erotema Erotesis Question figure interrogative phrase Percontatio
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