Erotema (e-ro-tem’-a): The rhetorical question. To affirm or deny a point strongly by asking it as a question. Generally, as Melanchthon has noted, the rhetorical question includes an emotional dimension, expressing wonder, indignation, sarcasm, etc.
Have you ever seen a llama wearing pajamas? That’s from a children’s song I used to sing with my daughter. It all happened down by the bay. It was so much fun, I decided to invest everything I had in an amusement park themed after the song, where the names all of the exhibits and rides were from “down by the bay.” It was a real challenge. “Down by the Bay” played constantly in the background in the park, which , of course was named “Down By The Bay Theme Park.” We dug a fake bay and filled it with water. It was a lot of wrk keeping the mosquito population down and keeping it looking like a bay instead of a swamp—cattail control was difficult too. We’re still trying to figure out what to do about the muskrats and their reed-pile houses.
It cost $25.00 to get into the park and that covered everything—all rides, all exhibits. The “Whale With a Polka Dot Tail” is by far the most popular ride. It bounces up and down and spins around, squirting water out of a blowhole drilled in his back. It also plays sound clips of whales talking to each other. The “Fly Wearing a Tie” is pretty popular too. It consists of giant flies wearing ties mounted on the spokes of wheel that goes around and up and down. There’s a giant fly swatter mounted on the hub of the wheel. It starts swat the riders, but stops half-way down, giving them a thrill.
Then, one night when I when I was closing up the park, a llama wearing pajamas ran past the port-a potties. I had just smoked a joint and thought I was seeing things. It was some the best weed I’d every had. It was Peruvian Whacker and it really did the job. I saw the llama wearing pajamas again. It was down by the bay getting a drink of water. It’s pajamas we’re dirty and frayed. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was like the “Llama in Pajamas Ride” had come to life. I whistled at it and it turned around and started coming toward me. It got about two feet away from me and then spit in my face and walked away. I kept yelling “Come back!” But it ignored me and went back down by the bay, near where the watermelons grow.
I ran down by the bay, but the llama in pajamas had disappeared. I could see where he had stepped on a couple of watermelons as he took off. Then a giant fly wearing a tie almost knocked me down as it flew past me toward the rising moon. I went down by the bay, to the water’s edge, and tossed in my bag of Peruvian Whacker.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
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