Epiplexis (e-pi-plex’-is): Asking questions in order to chide, to express grief, or to inveigh. A kind of rhetorical question [–the speaker does not expect an answer].
Why? Why? Why? Why did I let her read that book : “Lots of People, Lots of Places?” A tasteless tome about people living off the land, wandering around America like homeless souls and meeting people from all walks of life—used car dealers, farmers, plastic surgeons, carpenters, day care providers, professors, crooks, butchers, prophets, bartenders. What the hell is the point of that? Home, home on the range is where I want to be. But, my daughter has been influenced by the book, She’s gone. She calls me now and then to share her latest meeting. Last week, it was a goat herder from Canada. Before that, a monk. Next, she tells me she’s going to meet an Uber driver. What the hell? What will I do? Why did I let her read that book? How is this going to end up?
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu). Bracketed text added by Gorgias.
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