Rhetorical Figures Research Articles

Shedding light on the ‘invisible load’: an analysis of sight metaphors in parenthood podcasts

ABSTRACT This paper intends to establish which sight metaphors are preferably utilised in parenthood podcast discourse when the division of family responsibilities within heterosexual dual-income couples is discussed. The study examines a sample of podcast episodes about this topic aired during the COVID-19 pandemic and produced in a number of English-speaking countries. Starting from the assumption that work performed within the home is conventionally conceptualised as something heavy (DOMESTIC WORK IS A LOAD), the research relies on Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Critical Metaphor Analysis to explore the ways in which the ‘load’ source domains combines with that of ‘vision’. Results indicate the widespread presence of invisibility metaphors in relation to women's work within their households. The adoption of such rhetorical figures has noteworthy ideological repercussions: labelling mothers’ contributions to their families as ‘invisible’ produces the paradoxical effect of making them very noticeable, thus validating women's efforts and highlighting their crucial importance. The use of metaphorical patterns involving the sense of sight thus represents an instance of counter discourse that spreads awareness about the devaluation of housework and childcare and might ultimately contribute to family and societal transformation.

Appreciation, Analysis and Creation in the Teaching-learning of the Plastic Arts

Aim. The Didactics of the Plastic Education is necessarily nourished by the general didactics and the arts, as well as by their particular methodologies, in aspects related to the teaching-learning of the textual analysis, and specifically, the study of the visual code (iconic and visual signs, tropes or rhetorical figures, etc.), which dialogues with theory, semiotics, cultural anthropology, among other sciences. Methods. In academic research, methods such as the analysis of the results of pedagogical activity, ethnographic or experiential and inductive-deductive methods were used. Results. The Didactics of a Plastic Education requires an urgent review that includes, from its most general principles and laws, to the aspects related to the selection and sequencing of content, the role of the student's plastic education in achieving a social model, the distinctions between artistic education, aesthetic education and teaching of the plastic arts in all the integrality and complexity of their discourses, the teaching-learning process, its essence and contradictions, the categorical system of the teaching-learning process, among other fundamental aspects. The present study contributes to this rethinking of the theoretical and methodological postulates of the Didactics of Plastic Education, as it proposes as an objective: to argue the didactic principle of the unity between appreciation, analysis and textual creation in the teaching-learning process of the visual image analysis. Conclusion. This argument constitutes a theoretical contribution to the science, and clarifies, while unifying, criteria and procedures in the pedagogical practice of artists, teachers, instructors and masters of the plastic arts.

Симптомы теологии в письме Луи Альтюссера

The aim of the study is to examine Louis Althusser’s writing for traces, theological concepts and theological rhetorical figures. While several of Althusser’s texts discuss the Church as an ideological apparatus – a social organism that reproduces specific ideologies – his work largely sidesteps direct engagement with theol-ogy. The article pays special attention to the interpellation theory of the subject and the concept of “overdeter-mination”. The key thesis of the article is that L. Althussers’ writing can reveal symptoms and traces of theologi-cal thought, in particular with regard to one of the most significant motives of L. Althusser’s theory – the general structure of Ideology. As a result, the presence of traces of theological thought is shown in those fragments of L. Althusser’s writing that relate to the interpellation theory of the subject, the material practice of ideology and the determination of the processes of reproduction of the total structure.

Psycholinguistic Analysis of Inversion as a Rhetorical Figure in Fiction

Psycholinguistic Analysis of Inversion as a Rhetorical Figure in Fiction

Dostoevsky’s Great Pentateuch: Concept, Translation, Interpretation

Dostoevsky has been successfully translated into different languages. He remains himself even in unsuccessful translations. Every translation is an interpretation. Interpretations include not only critical publications, but also theatrical productions and screen adaptations. Translations and interpretations expand the corpus of Dostoevsky’s texts. Translation is universal. Dostoevsky is in demand for translations not only into foreign languages, but also from Russian into Russian: manuscript to printed text, printed text to multimedia format. Over the last hundred years, the graphics, orthography and punctuation of the Russian language have changed. Changes in the language distort the meaning of Dostoevsky’s works. Both the shortcomings and the achievements of Soviet and post-Soviet textology are most fully presented in the Complete Works of Dostoevsky. They resulted in the amended texts of the writer, which, in turn, required new translations into foreign languages. The concept of “Dostoevsky’s Pentateuch” is tentative. Had Dostoevsky lived longer, he may have written more great novels: not five, but six or more. And now “Poor People,” “Notes from the Dead House,” “Notes from Underground,” “Diary of a Writer” are added to Dostoevsky’s five great novels . Of the different Pentateuchs, there are two personal ones: one by Moses, the other by Dostoevsky, which was immediately labeled “great.” The concept of the “great Pentateuch” has many authors. It became common place in conference debates as early as the 1970s. At first, it was a rhetorical figure that stated the number of Dostoevsky’s famous novels. At present it is a concept that expresses the ideological content, genre and poetics of the writer’s late novels.

Revising Ostpolitik

Abstract The Russian invasion of Ukraine marks a turning point in European security policy. Defense concepts have been altered within Europe as well as in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and Russia is no longer seen as a European partner, but a threat to security and stability in Europe. The article argues that the term Zeitenwende coined by the German chancellor is not a rhetorical figure; rather, it is reshaping Germany's approach to the East and upended German and European Ostpolitik. In fact, the new foreign policy direction sheds illusions of both the classic Ostpolitik of the Cold War and the new Ostpolitik of post-unification Germany by introducing a fundamentally different approach to Eastern and Central Eastern Europe and within NATO. The article explores the critical juncture created by the Zeitenwende of 2022 and its implications for European security policy.

Comparing verbal and visual rhetoric – and the danger of “empirical shorthands”

Abstract This paper will evaluate the quantitative content analysis of visual rhetoric which has been put forward by George Rossolatos in the context of audio-visuality and marketing research. Rossolatos bases his taxonomy of visual rhetorical figures on Groupe µ’s adaptation of classical rhetoric in Rhétorique génerale (1970). With the aim of creating a systematic model for marketing analysis, he and his collaborators have coded and classified an extensive number of audiovisual commercials from the top international strata of economically valuable brands. For comparison, I have during a period of four years given undergraduates the task of collecting and categorizing a minimum of ten audio-visual commercials, each of which should exemplify one of the figures referred to by Rossolatos. The outcomes of the task indicate that a random explorative study with a minimum of operationalization and training of coders is enough for obtaining results akin to those reported by Rossolatos. This may be regarded as a positive outcome from a pedagogical point of view, but it may also raise the suspicion that Rossolatos’s criteria are merely intuitive. If the incidence of visual rhetorical figures is to be studied as an independent content variable of audio-visual enunciations, the values/figures should be described with greater caution.

Metaphorical effects of advertising in different types of hotels: evidence from eye-tracking

PurposeThis study aims to explore the attraction, influence and persuasive effect of advertising (with or without metaphor) across different types of hotels (luxury vs. budget hotels).Design/methodology/approachTwo independent variables – namely, the hotel category (luxury versus budget) and the use of rhetorical figures (text with metaphors versus text without metaphors) – serve as the basis for the investigation. The research design is a 2 × 2 within-subjects construct based on eye-tracking methodology complemented by questionnaire-based data collection. Participants were engaged with hotel advertisements under four specific conditions, each reflecting a distinct combination of the two independent variables.FindingsThe findings reveal the augmented attention-grabbing prowess of advertisements that use metaphors compared to those that do not. Furthermore, the study findings reveal that the hotel category significantly influences the efficacy of advertising; advertisements promoting luxury hotels were found to stimulate superior impression recall, garner higher customer affinity and prompt a more potent intention to patronize the hotel. Finally, the study shows that neither congruent nor incongruent pairings of visual (budget or luxury hotel) and verbal elements (with or without metaphor) yield additional advertising benefits.Practical implicationsThis research addresses the limited empirical guidance available for hotel operators at various levels regarding the design of advertisements incorporating rhetorical devices. It highlights the potential benefits of using figurative rhetoric, especially metaphors, in advertising for both budget and luxury hotels. The study reveals a notable correlation between hotel category, particularly luxury offerings, and customer attention, retention, preference and intention to visit. Furthermore, it encourages hotel operators, regardless of their hotel’s ranking, to incorporate metaphorical language into their advertising designs, underscoring the need for strategic integration in overall advertisement planning.Originality/valueUsing high-resolution online eye-tracking technology, this study innovatively examines the influence of hotel category and rhetorical devices on the effectiveness and attention-grabbing potential of advertisements. Through this approach, the study seeks to offer valuable managerial and advertising insights for those involved in hotel marketing.

A poetic geography: placing urban literature in two districts of Istanbul, Türkiye

ABSTRACT This article presents a map of a ‘poetic geography’ of short literature that appeared in public in two districts on the Asian side of Istanbul, Türkiye between 2020 and 2023. I use Michel de Certeau’s concept of ‘Walking the City’ from his The Practice of Everyday Life (1984) to link space and time to map the literary material found in Istanbul’s Üsküdar and Kadıköy districts. A poetic geography contrasts with a literal map that reduces all traces to a geometrically consistent two-dimensional surface. Mapping a poetic geography offers the advantages of annotating short verbal expressions in their lived environments without the need to collect, control, and own literary fragments. After an introduction to ‘Walking Istanbul’ through a comparison of short literary fragments found in the Rasimpaşa (Kadıköy) and Mimar Sinan (Üsküdar) neighbourhoods, I offer a definition of short literary genres that includes the material, or space and time of rhetorical figures, topoi and tropes, as embodied practices. Including the material allows for both researchers and residents to annotate examples of short literature that are distributed in diverse materials across unique urban settings.

Особености на парламентарната реторика в 47-ото Народно събрание

Abstract: The paper presents the results of a study of parliamentary rhetoric of the 47th National Assembly MPs, carried out through rhetorical analysis. Four significant topics related to foreign and domestic policy, as well as a debate on a vote of no confidence against a regularly elected government, are selected. The analysis is based on speeches and appearances of MPs from seven parliamentary political parties and coalitions over the period from 3 December 2021 to 31 August 2022. The rhetorical figures, arguments and communicative techniques used by parliamentary speakers are identified after an analysis implemented on the basis of a previously prepared registration card including basic rhetorical techniques. It confirmed the hypothesis that the main features of parliamentary rhetoric in the studied period are the polarization of positions, the reduced use of rhetorical figures, the construction of arguments through familiar techniques and their combination with manipulative techniques. Parliamentary debates take place in a tense atmosphere and political figures fail to build trust in their constituents and to mobilize them to vote in the subsequent elections. Keywords: parliamentary rhetoric, debates, speakers, MPs, rhetorical figures, arguments.

Думи на водещия

Editor Words DOI 10.55206/EBMA3053 Prof. Dr Ivanka Mavrodieva, DSc Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” Email: mavrodieva@phls.uni-sofia.bg Issue 59 (April 2024) of the Rhetoric and Communication Journal includes eight publications, which announce the results of research, among which surveys of parliamentary rhetoric and communication, which has manifestations in media and on the Internet, in politics and in society. The section “Media and Internet Communication” brings together four articles that contribute to the derivation of concepts, the delineation of the boundaries of new fields of academic research and the renewal of the categorical and conceptual apparatus in several scientific fields, for example through the terms “media culture”, “media transformation”, “cultural software” and “infor¬mation aesthetics”, “cancel culture”, “digital oral histories”, “hybrid risks and threats”. Simeon Vassilev outlines various scientific approaches to the definition of the term “media culture”; he presents theories, concepts, approaches and ad¬vo¬cates the need for a coherent theory of media transformation and media culture; the author draws conclusions about the phenomenon of media culture as a social practice. Desislava Dobreva explores a topic that is characterized by topicality and social sensitivity and examines the notion of “cancel culture”; she studies the phenomenon theoretically and historically; the author analyses current events and identifies rhetorical aspects in this specific virtual communication. Nikolina Ivanova-Bell examines the development of digital oral histories, as well as the opportunities they offer in the field of university education and academic libraries; on the basis of analyses she establishes the potential for enriching research and teaching experience in an academic environment. Andrey Velchev examines hybrid warfare from an interdisciplinary perspective; he analyses the role of the media and the Internet; the author presents the activities of institutions in identifying and neutralising hybrid threats, and in formulating and implementing strategic tasks regarding hybrid warfare. In the section “Political Communication and Parliamentary Rhetoric” two articles are included; they are written on the basis of a theoretical observation and include results of research into concepts in the fields of political science, political communication and parliamentary rhetoric in contemporary Bulgaria. Atanas Zhdrebev’s publication is devoted to populism; he discusses Takis Papas’s concept of populism as democratic illiberalism; the author gives examples of contemporary political phenomena and processes from different countries. Sofia-Nikol Nikolova examines the argumentation and rhetorical figures used by MPs during debates on significant domestic political issues and votes of no confidence and presents the results of an analysis of parliamentarian rhetoric in the 49th National Assembly in Bulgaria. The issue has a section “Contemporary Studies” in which there are options for presenting not only books, but also their contributions at the theoretical, methodological and research levels. The review of Professor Danail Danov’s book “Foundations of Media Pedagogy. A guide to the world of digital culture and its tools” is metaphorically entitled “a guide to the digital modus vivendi” by Simeon Vassilev. Professor Angel Angelov introduces Radeya Gesheva’s book “Enigmas and Paradigms in Some Twentieth-Century Italian Women Writers”. Prof. Dr. Ivanka Mavrodieva is a lecturer in rhetoric, argumentation, PR and virtual communication at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. She is the author of 15 books (including “Virtual rhetoric: from diaries to social networks”, “Political rhetoric in Bulgaria: from rallies to Web 2.0 (1989 - 2012)”, “Rhetoric and Public Re¬lations”, “Online Course on Rhetoric”) and 120 articles. Her research interests are in the fields of contemporary rhetoric, virtual communication, argumentation, PR and business communication. Rhetoric and Communications Journal, issue 59, April 2024 Read the Original in Bulgarian and English

‘—and so this tree— / O that such our death may be—’: Shelley’s Last Treescapes

Trees shift between visual, literal, and rhetorical figures in Shelley’s poetry, where distinctive tree species accentuate particular qualities of verse. Attentive to the final year of Shelley’s life, this essay explores the treescapes of the poet’s ultimate work, ‘The Triumph of Life’, and the pine’s suspension of time in Shelley’s last lyrics to Jane Williams: ‘To Jane. The Invitation’, ‘To Jane–The Recollection’, and ‘With a Guitar. To Jane’. The pines that populate the Jane Poems are complicit in the arrestation of the lyrical moment, embalming poetic speaker and subject in deathly amber. In ‘The Triumph of Life’, broadleaved species – the chestnut and the poplar – regenerate the fallen leaves of the ‘Ode to the West Wind’ by sowing the seeds of posterity. Rooted in a tradition of arboreal poetics from the classical world to the contemporary, Shelley’s trees construct an allusive network of intertextual echoes.

Od zapominania do (u)pamięt(ni)ania? Wrocławskie elity o niemieckim dziedzictwie stolicy Dolnego Śląska

The status of German heritage in Wrocław is rather specific, and has been changing over the past seven decades under the influence of not only state and local politics, but also the biographical experiences of successive generations of residents. Calling German heritage troublesome is a frequently used rhetorical figure as well as — or perhaps primarily as — an epithet describing a social fact. This article aims to provide answers concerning the troublesome nature of German heritage for contemporary Wrocław elites. The empirical material comprises unstructured interviews conducted in 2011 and 2022, on the basis of which the relationship between the German heritage and persons occupying specific privileged positions in the social structure of the capital of Lower Silesia was determined. As the study proceeded, three types of approach to this relationship emerged. The first considers the relationship with German heritage unproblematic — either due to it being made “ours,” or because of it being treated superficially. The second approach recognizes the troublesome nature of this relationship, resulting from the tensions between local and national memory policy, including the state’s historical policy offering an antagonistic vision of Polish-German relations. The third type points to the relationship being troublesome due to the attitude to German heritage during the communist era; the memory of this difficult relationship with the heritage back then, and contemporary efforts to restore memory of Wrocław’s pre-1945 history. The approaches thus identified are present in the stories, regardless of the time — they can be found both when the city’s multicultural identity and local memory were intensively discussed a decade ago, and today, when the city is addressing new urban challenges.

The (White) Child and the Dustin Inman Society: American Ethnonationalism, Masculine Protectionism, and Racialized Citizenship

Abstract: Utilizing feminist discursive analysis, this article examines the public rhetoric and activism of the anti-immigrant group, the Dustin Inman Society (DIS), in order to analyze how and to what ends the DIS mobilizes the memory of a dead, White child in service of anti-immigrant animus. The article demonstrates that by positioning the rhetorical figure of the Child as an oracle of the national future, the DIS frames its anti-immigrant activism as nothing less than a struggle for the survival of the next generation of (White) Americans, of a sacred American-qua-White culture, and of the nation itself. This rhetorical, ideological, and affective framing of the White Child justifies and legitimizes a particular kind of ethnonationalist male protectionism against both the ‘illegal invasion’ of Latina/o immigrants and a feminized federal government. The DIS’s racist and gendered rhetoric simultaneously contributes to rising swells of White ethnonationalism and travels along preexisting channels of racism and White (masculine) supremacy that are carved deep into US society. This analysis reveals much about the complex interrelationships between White masculinity and ethnonationalism, xenophobia, and nativism, and about how these rhetorical framings aid in the (re)definition of American citizenship as racialized, able-bodied, genealogical, and above all, White.

Prolepsis and Rendering Futures in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Reports.

Rhetorical figures of speech provide important analytical frames to chart how arguments operate within genres and within genre ecologies. Varieties of the figure prolepsis allow for the rendering of future time or fact in the present, which can be a powerful rhetorical inducement toward social and political action. In this article, we examine how anticipatory arguments drawn from complex data shape a key genre for public and policy-facing work on the climate crisis-the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Synthesis Report's (SYR) Statement for Policy Makers (SPM). We examine how the rhetorical figure of prolepsis operates within this genre to understand the anticipatory arguments and logics emerging from the synthesis of scientific findings and their reporting. Pairing figural studies and Rhetorical Genre Studies, we further offer an approach to investigate how these patterned operations of language might intersect in their rhetorical workings.

Was Einhard a widower?

AbstractThe ‘widow’ is a gendered, socially contingent category. Women who experienced spousal bereavement in the early middle ages faced various socio‐economic and legal ramifications; the ‘widow’ was further a rhetorical figure with a defined emotional register. The widower is, by contrast, an anachronistic category. In the absence of developed models of male ‘widowhood’, this article considers the case study of Einhard, whose letter of bereavement appears to offer a rare glimpse into early medieval interiority. Einhard did not experience the same socio‐economic and legal consequences of female widowhood. But was he, in his own rhetorical self‐expression, a male widow?

Fausses fenêtres : Étienne Pascal et Étienne Noël, saint Augustin et Jean Duvergier de Hauranne

This article examines the philosophical and theological nuances in the works of Étienne Pascal and Étienne Noël, focusing on their interpretations of Saint Augustine and Jean Duvergier de Hauranne. It explores the concept of antithesis (ἀντίθεσις) in both rhetorical and philosophical contexts, drawing upon Platonic and Aristotelian texts. The article highlights the use of antithesis in Augustine’s explanation of evil and its integration into the universal order, connecting this to 17th-century French thought, especially in relation to Blaise Pascal’s ideas on rhetoric. A critical analysis of Étienne Pascal’s letter to Father Noël is presented, emphasizing his understanding of rhetorical figures, notably metaphor and antithesis, and their theological implications. The discussion extends to Saint-Cyran’s interpretation of Augustine, particularly concerning ecclesiastical guidance and priesthood preparation. The article concludes by underscoring the complex interplay between language, thought, and faith in these historical contexts.

The national idea in the works of turkic writers (Yusuf Balasaguni, Abai Qunanbaiuly, Aleksey Kulakovsky)

The article aims to reveal the peculiarities of the national idea in the works of Turkic writers Yusuf Balasaguni, Abai Qunanbaiuly and Aleksey Kulakovsky. The relevance of the article is connected with the value-based and common cultural understanding of literary texts in Turkic languages created in different periods of history. For the first time the works of named authors are comparatively examined by revealing the notion of national idea in their writings. Historical-typological and comparativehistorical research methods have been used to compare the works of the writers. The most acclaimed works of aforementioned Turkic writers were chosen as the subject of analysis: “Blessed Knowledge” (1069–1070) by Yusuf Balasaguni, “Words of Edification” (1890–1898) by Abai Qunanbaiuly and “The Dream of a Shaman” (1910) by Aleksey Kulakovsky. All three writers were versatile personalities with a special way of thinking, an active attitude to life, and patriotic aspirations, who occupied a special place in the history of their peoples as spiritual leaders. As translators of traditional spiritual and moral values, they raised the issue of the preservation and development of their native culture in works. The article suggests that the typological similarity of the works is caused by the cultural and historical similarity of their regions and their belonging to the same language family. It is suggested that the idea of unity and preservation of the people, which is expressed in ancient Turkic monuments, has been imprinted in the genetic memory of the Turkic-speaking peoples. Genetic-typological similarities can also be seen in the genre of the works, which are all recipient-oriented and are written in the form of an appeal to the people. The works are also similar in their narrative style: the authors address their listeners directly, appealing to their feelings with the help of various rhetorical figures, which also has its genetic roots in the Orkhon-Yenisei monuments, written on behalf of the ancient Turkic rulers who called on their people to unite. The enlighteners, being highly educated people, understood that socio-cultural transformation and development of the society were based on the acquisition of knowledge and scientific foundations, and therefore they promoted the idea of national revival along the civilisational and progressive path of development of the society. Abai Qunanbaiuly and Aleksey Kulakovsky, realising that the union of cultures could only contribute to the progress of society, called for the acceptance of the achievements of Russian culture and the learning of the Russian language.

INTERFERENCE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEXEMES IN THE UKRAINIAN HUMOROUS DISCOURSE DURING THE FULL-SCALE INVASION

The article highlights the cognitive and linguistic aspects of Ukrainian humorous discourse during the full-scale Russian invasion, focusing on the process of interference of words of foreign origin. Particular attention is paid to lexemes and their reinterpretation through cognitive patterns, such as availability heuristics, negative thinking, the accessibility cascade, the friend-foe pattern, the effect of contrast and stereotypical expectations. The study reveals a variety of stylistic means of comism that are caused by the interference of words of foreign origin in humorous Ukrainian discourse. The main techniques are irony, allusion, comic innuendo, parallelism, paradox, hyperbole, baphos, gradation, metaphor, and rhetorical figures. These stylistic elements of humor play an important role in creating a comic effect and shaping a humorous statement in wartime. The determined communicative functions of Ukrainian humor fragments relate to maintaining an optimistic moral state, promoting the unanimity of the Ukrainian people in the difficult circumstances of the war, creating a negative image of the enemy, and relieving psychological stress that occurs in people during hostilities, air raids, and shelling. The sample has three American tokens, three English tokens, two German tokens, and one Turkish token, which is duplicated in two jokes. All of them are reinterpreted and receive additional meanings and connotations. Ukrainian humorous discourse during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine is based on topics relevant to the country: political, military, cultural-historical, and social. The systematized use of borrowed words in modern jokes can be seen, and it concerns the current realities of Ukrainians. Humor itself is built on situational circumstances, military aspects, and their consequences for society. The interference of foreign-language lexemes leads to the acquisition of specific words and phrases with new and ambiguous lexical and semantic meanings. Most of the sample, which refers to the military aid of Western countries, interprets the borrowed words in a positive sense; the other part, which concerns Russian realities, gives the constructions negative comic and ironic-humorous meanings.

Музыкальная риторика Рихарда Штрауса: к постановке проблемы

Perhaps the main particular feature of Richard Strauss as a composer is his incomparable gift for musical characterization. He was able to convey literally everything in sounds: both material and concrete things, as well as all sorts of abstract ideas and concepts. An increased attention to the details of the musical text, stage-related situations, and the behavior of various protagonist determines the special mobility and lability of musical presentation in the composer’s opera scores. In his work as a whole, this characteristic feature explains the strong stylistic contrasts between particular musical-theatrical works, depending on the plotline and the chosen mode of its implementation. Taking into account the challenges that arose in each work, Strauss each time created a specific thesaurus of musical means — the particular characteristic figures. The composer himself spoke in this regard about “sound symbols” (Tonsymbole), to which he pertained the design of the melodic line, the characteristic motive, the special rhythmic motion within the confines of a unique timbre, and other elements of musical presentation. At the same time, he could freely turn to already existing musical-historical material containing certain semantic connotations (musical quotations, particular musical styles, topoi, genres, compositional techniques, etc.). Among the characteristic means that Strauss resorted to, the following must be highlighted 1) word-painting (Tonmalerei), 2) leitmotifs, 3) the respective tonality, 4) musical quotations (borrowed from other composers’ works and from his own), 5) genre, 6) the compositional method, 7) style. The article draws an analogy between Strauss’s methods of musical characterization and the use of musical and rhetorical figures in the Baroque era. However, if the rhetorical figures refer to the area of typified content, it follows that Strauss creates an arsenal of special characteristic means for each specific work. The musical “emblems”, which previously possessed a universally significant character, acquire purely authorial traits and require individual decoding.