Why rhetorical questions?

A rhetorical question is a figure of speech, which is an affirmation or denial in the form of a question that does not require an answer. Rhetorical issues are often used in fiction and journalistic texts, and they are also used in oral speech.

Most often, rhetorical questions are used to emphasize the significance of the statement and to draw the attention of the listener or reader to a specific problem. Moreover, the use of the interrogative form is a convention, because no answer is expected or too obvious.

Being one of the means of expression, rhetorical questions are widely used in the texts of the artistic style. For example, they were often used in works of Russian literature of the 19th century ("And who are the judges?", "Who is to blame?", "What should I do?"). By resorting to these rhetorical figures, the writers strengthened the emotional coloring of the statement and made readers think about it.

Rhetorical questions were also used in journalistic works. In them, in addition to enhancing the artistic expressiveness of the text, rhetorical questions help create the illusion of a conversation with the reader. Often the same technique is used during speeches and lectures, highlighting key phrases and involving the audience in the process of reflection. Listening to the monologue, a person involuntarily pays special attention to statements made with interrogative intonation, therefore this method of interest to the audience is very effective. Sometimes the speaker uses not one, but a whole series of rhetorical questions, thus focusing the audience on the most important passage of a report or lecture.

In addition to rhetorical questions, both rhetorical exclamations and rhetorical references are used in both written and oral speech. Just as in rhetorical issues, the main role here is played by the intonation with which these phrases are pronounced. Rhetorical exclamations and appeals also belong to the means of enhancing the expressiveness of the text and convey the emotions, feelings of the author.