---
name: memorable-lines-and-rhetoric
description: Use when essays, speeches, books, poems, posts, or scripts need more quotability, rhythm, emphasis, and rhetorical force through devices like repetition, contrast, parallelism, and reversal.
license: MIT
---

# Memorable Lines And Rhetoric

Use this skill to strengthen line-level memorability.

## Source Protocol

- Read `references/source-notes.md` when the user wants the rhetorical source map or named-device framing.
- Use source material as a device catalog and revision lens, not as a voice target.
- Do not imitate living authors or pad weak ideas with decorative rhetoric.

## Use When

- The writing is competent but forgettable.
- A speech or essay needs stronger verbal lift.
- The user wants more quotable phrasing without going purple.

## Do Not Use When

- The task is plain utilitarian documentation.
- The user wants maximum plainness over memorability.
- The underlying thought is still fuzzy.

## Attention Targets

- Parallelism
- Repetition
- Contrast
- Reversal
- Rhythm
- Compression
- Placement of emphasis

## Operating Rules

- Start from the idea, then choose rhetorical form.
- Prefer a few strong devices over constant ornament.
- Preserve sense before sound.
- Use repetition and contrast to sharpen meaning, not decorate emptiness.
- Offer named device options when useful.
- Keep the author's register in mind.

## Failure Modes

- Purple prose
- Decorative language with no conceptual gain
- Too many devices packed together
- Memorable line, weak surrounding paragraph

## Output Shape

```text
Core idea:
Current weakness:
Rhetorical options:
Recommended revision:
Device notes:
Why this version sticks:
```