This essay aims at analyzing the rhetorical figure of the hypotyposis,which has been in great consideration both among ancient rhetoricians (Cicero and Quintilian) and among modern critics (Dumarsais and Barthes) for its ability to portray visual experiences through the use of words, so as to make them so immediate as if they were present in front of the reader’s eyes. The essay compares the hypotyposis with other similar rhetorical strategies, such as description, evidentia, and ekphrasis, which all play a relevant persuasive function for they make arguments more tangible and convincing.