Amplification (rhetoric)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Merriam-Webster defines amplification as follows: "the particulars by which a statement is expanded." Furthermore, amplification refers to a rhetorical device used to add features to a statement.
In rhetoric, amplification refers to the act and means of extending thoughts or statements:
- to increase rhetorical effect,
- to add importance,
- or to make the most of a thought or circumstance.
Amplification may refer to exaggeration or to stylistic vices such as figures of excess or superfluity (e.g., hyperbole).
Amplification involves identifying parts of a text by means of a process of division; each part of the text may be subjected to amplification. Amplification is thus a set of strategies which, taken together, constitute Inventio, one of the five classical canons of rhetoric.
As a means of developing multiple forms of expression for a thought, amplification “names an important point of intersection where figures of speech and figures of thought coalesce.”
In his book, A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices, author Robert Harris explains in depth, "Amplification involves repeating a word or expression while adding more detail to it, in order to emphasize what might otherwise be passed over. In other words, amplification allows you to call attention to, emphasize, and expand a word or idea to make sure the reader realizes its important or centrality in the discussion." Harris provides examples of amplification: "In my hunger after ten days of rigorous dieting I saw visions of ice cream--mountains of creamy, luscious ice cream, dripping with gooey syrup and calories." This example illustrates the rhetorical use of amplification to motivate readers to recognize the significance of this sentence, not just ignore it.
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