Comparatio is a rhetorical strategy that uses a comparison to persuade an audience, often using metaphor or simile. It should contain appropriate emotional content and make a comparison between logically comparable elements. It can also be used to convey factual information.
Comparatio, which is Latin for simply “comparison,” is a rhetorical strategy that uses a comparison to persuade an audience. It is a form of figurative language, often metaphor or simile, that draws on the audience’s prior knowledge and experience. Most often, this rhetorical device is used to elicit a particular emotional reaction, but it can also be used to aid logical or factual understanding of a topic. Comparatio should not be confused with compa ratio or compa-ratio, which is a method of determining a person’s salary.
Effective comparatio has an emotional content appropriate to the speaker’s or writer’s goals. For example, a speaker may want to persuade his or her audience that a particular ideology that is growing in popularity is having a detrimental effect. This speaker would be better off comparing ideology to cancer cells, rather than bunnies. Both have a reputation for multiplying and spreading rapidly, but obviously cancer has negative connotations, while rabbits are likely to have neutral or even positive connotations.
In addition to containing appropriate emotional content, the comparatio should make a comparison between logically comparable elements. For example, a writer might be trying to encourage a free flow of ideas that isn’t impeded by shyness or fear. The writer might liken a bad attitude to a flat tire on a bicycle, but a better analogy might be to say that a person who won’t express his ideas is like a jar with the lid screwed on too tight. Both analogies have the appropriate emotional content – neither a flat tire nor a jar that won’t open are commonly seen as positive – but a stuck lid prevents something from getting out, as shyness prevents a person’s ideas from getting out. A flat tire also makes movement more difficult, but less logically comparable.
Using an analogy to convey factual information can also be considered a form of comparatio. A physician may need to communicate with a patient analogically, for example, if the patient lacks the technical knowledge to easily understand the function of a procedure he or she needs. Unlike other forms of comparatio, this one would not necessarily have persuasion as the ultimate goal.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
