A shared topic is only a starting point. For the rhetorical device, the affinity should be conspicuous and purposeful. Rain, cloud, and lightning form a coherent weather field, whereas day and night may be organized chiefly around opposition.
Classification therefore requires more than spotting several related nouns. One must explain the shared semantic field, its effect within the passage, and whether contrast rather than affinity is the principal device.
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Ilm al-Badiʿ: The First Nine Semantic Rhetorical Devices
A shared topic is only a starting point. For the rhetorical device, the affinity should be conspicuous and purposeful. Rain, cloud, and lightning form a coherent weather field, whereas day and night may be organized chiefly around opposition.
Classification therefore requires more than spotting several related nouns. One must explain the shared semantic field, its effect within the passage, and whether contrast rather than affinity is the principal device.