Rhetorical question

A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question posed for rhetorical effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer.

Generally, a rhetorical question seeks to encourage reflection within the listener as to what the answer to the question (at least, the answer implied by the questioner) must be. When a speaker declaims, "How much longer must our people endure this injustice?" or "Will our company grow or shrink?", no formal answer is expected.

If a mother asks, "How many times do I have to tell you to stop walking into the house with mud on your shoes?", she does not want an answer.

Some rhetorical questions become idiomatic English expressions:

"What's the matter with you?"

"Don't you know any better?"

"Have you no shame?"

"Is the Pope Catholic?"

"Do fish swim?"

"Are you crazy?"

"Who cares?"

"How should I know?"

Some TV shows have had rhetorical questions as titles, such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Whose Line Is It Anyway?

External links

• What is a rhetorical question? (http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsARhetoricalQuestion.htm)
• Rhetorical question (http://www.geocities.com/bible_translation/glossr.htm#rhetorical)