Hypophora Examples

Hypophora is a rhetorical device where a speaker or writer states a question and then immediately answers the question.

Should students wear uniforms to school? The answer is yes. Uniforms in school could decrease discipline incidents. They could also lead to increased concentration in class. Finally, uniforms create a sense of school community.

My grandmother cooks a feast every Thanksgiving. Why does she do it? She uses food to show love. She spends hours baking, roasting, stirring, and testing-all because she loves her family. This is her way of showing it.

Examples of Hypophora in Literature

From Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory:

"Thirty-one cakes, dampened with whiskey, bask on window sills and shelves.

Who are they for?

Friends. Not necessarily neighbor friends: indeed, the larger share is intended for persons we've met maybe once, perhaps not at all. People who've struck our fancy. Like President Roosevelt".

From E.B. White's Charlotte's Web:

"After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that."