9,10,11,12 A method used in writing or speaking in which language is used to influence or persuade an audience.

a use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance)

a technique of using language that will increase the persuasiveness of a piece of writing

a use of language that creates a certain effect

In rhetoric, a rhetorical device or resource of language is a technique that an author or speaker uses to evoke an emotional response in his audience (his reader(s) or listener(s)). These emotional responses are central to the meaning of the work or speech, and should also get the audience's attention.