Best/Worst Rhetorical Question

[Bluetrain]

Hey all,

I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the Best or the Worst rhetorical question they've seen on the Board.

My personal favorites have been:

Best: Who is God's Photographer? (posted somewhere in the General Board)

Worst: (tie) What is Literature?
What is Good Poetry?

no offense to anyone...

 

[Whispersecret]

Ahem. The question was "What constitutes Literature?" LOL

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Ahem. The question was "What constitutes Literature?" LOL

Rhetorical? Everybody tried to answer that...I think I might have actually...LOL

 

[Whispersecret]

And I appreciated your response, QC. I honestly wanted to know, and I was surprised by many of the answers.

When I read this thread, I found myself questioning my understanding of the word "rhetorical," but I couldn't work up the energy to go look it up. From your post here, I gather I was right. To my mind, a rhetorical question is a question that isn't really meant to be answered. My question and KM's about poetry were real questions. I can understand if Bluetrain didn't like our questions or felt that they were pointless or not worth answering, but that doesn't make them rhetorical.

Finally, I don't really understand Bluetrain's best example. I wasn't raised in a religious family, and so perhaps that's why I don't get it. Or perhaps that question, "Who is God's photographer?" is a true rhetorical question...

 

[Black_Bird]

Niether of those questions are rhetorical

A rhetorical question is a question asked to which the speaker is not looking for an answer.

"Now do you know what a rhetorical question is?"

The above is a rhetorical question. So are questions asked in speaches - "I need you all to ask yourselves: What do *WE* need to do to ease the suffering in third world countries? Well, I'll tell you."

If I wasn't so lazy - I'd look up the definition and type it up for everyone to see... I think you are looking for a different word then "rhetorical" - perhaps "theoretical?"

 

[Mickie]

true rhetorical question --

if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a noise?

 

[Black_Bird]

"true rhetorical question -- if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a noise?"

No no no... that isn't a rhetorical question! That's a Zen Koan.

And the correct answer is cheese - munster cheese.

 

[Datadr]

Rhetorical Question: Does this dress make me look fat?

A question asked that either has no answer, or the query really didn't need a reply.

 

[poohlive]

Glossary of Literary Terms to the rescue!


Rhetorical question: a sentence in the grammatical form of a question which is not asked in order to request information or to invite a reply, but to achieve a greater expressive force than a direct assertion.


A common rhetorical question: Isn't it a shame?

lol, being an english major does come in handy from time to time.
Don't worry, I'm looking out for you, we're all in this together.

 

[Bluetrain]

Glossary of Literary Terms to the rescue!


Rhetorical question: a sentence in the grammatical form of a question which is not asked in order to request information or to invite a reply, but to achieve a greater expressive force than a direct assertion.


A common rhetorical question: Isn't it a shame?

lol, being an english major does come in handy from time to time.
Don't worry, I'm looking out for you, we're all in this together.

snicker....being an english major does lead to many bookstore/cafe/comic-book-store dead end jobs from time to time to time....

the above questions that I posed are indeed rhetorical inasmuch as they have no true answer and are qualitative to such an extent as to deny any "direct assertion."

a rhetorical question in forensics or common conversation is indeed a question that is posed not to garner direct information, and is prevalent in almost all cultures; however, in Western philosophy, pedagogy, and literary analysis, it is one that evaluative in nature: i.e., one that is subject to debate based on the speaker's experience and schema.

and thus, the question I posed is quite rhetorical, seeing as how we're all getting pretty high and mighty about it...

regards,

b

p.s. never rely on a book to support your opinion...

 

[ShamelessFlirt]

You wouldn't expect an answer, would ya?

How does "If we break up would you mind if I went out with your sister" rate as a rhetorical question??