RHETORIC NOTES

Rhetoric“rhetor” Greek persona of

communicator

Art of finding and analyzing all the choices involving language that a writer, speaker, reader, or listener might make in a situation so that the text becomes meaningful, purposeful, and effective for readers or listeners.

Art of communication = art of persuasion.

Where is Rhetoric found? Speeches Cartoons Advertisements Letters Poetry Prose Essays Magazine and newspaper articles on

controversial issues

Early History Aristotle (384-322 BCE)

1. Greek Philosopher = wrote on logic, natural sciences, metaphysics, ethics, politics, and rhetoric (many followers and brought the ideas to the western world)

2. Defined rhetoric as the ability to see; persuasion

3. Believed rhetoric created community and good will.

4. Create the basic principles for Rhetoric (ethos, pathos, logos).

Rhetorical Triangle

AUDIENCE

Subject/CONTEXT

WRITER (communicator)

Intention

AppealsAppeal Definition Effect

LogosGreek for “word”Refers to consistency of the message-- the clarity of the claim, the logic of its reasons, and the effectiveness of its supporting evidence

Appeals to the audience’s logic, sense of reasoning using facts, statistics, and evidence

EthosGreek for “character”Refers to the trustworthiness or credibility of the writer or speakerConveyed through tone and style

Appeals to the audience’s ethics, morals, prudence

Pathos

Greek for “suffering” or “experience”Refers to both the emotional and imaginative impact of the message on the audience

Appeals to the audience’s emotions and ability to identify with the writer’s point of view; draws upon the audience’s feelings and sentimentalityPages 49 - 50

Rhetorical DevicesVocabulary

Strategies that Strengthen any Argument/Persuasion

Draw TableRhetorical Device Definition Example

Diction

DICTIONEx. Colgate toothpaste is

dynamite.Ex. Starbursts are explosive.

RHETORICAL QUESTION

Question that is not answered by the writer, because the answer is obvious or is just

yes or no. It is used for effect, or provocation, or for drawing

a conclusionary statement from the facts at hand.

Rhetorical Questions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCK6wQ0BoxI

Euphemism The act or an example of substituting a

mild, indirect, or vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive.

Euphemism/Understatement

OVERSTATEMENT/HYPERBOLE

Making something sound worse than it is; An extreme overstatement of fact for dramatic

effect.

“going to the dentist is the worst thing ever”

ANAPHORARepetition of the same word or

words at the beginning of successive phrases.

Winston Churchill:

“We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills.”

CHIASMUSMirror image/inverted parallel

structure

CHIASMUS

RepetitionRepetitionRepetition

Repeating a word, phrase orSentence to achieve a desiredEffect.

ASYNDETONA style that omits conjunctions

between words, phrases, or clauses.

Asyndeton

“You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey’s uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried.” (Forest Gump)

Examples of Asyndeton “They dove, splashed, floated, swam,

snorted.”

“He was a bag of bones, a floppy doll, a broken stick, a maniac.”

POLYSYNDETONA style that employs many conjunctions (opposite of

asyndeton)

Polysyndeton “We lived and laughed and loved and

left” (James Joyce, Finnegans Wake)

“Oh my piglets, we are the origins of war-not history’s forces, nor ideas, nor kinds of government, nor causes, nor religions” (Katherine Hepburn, in The Lion in Winter)

Imagery“On a starry winter night in PortugalWhere the ocean kissed the southern shore”

Use of vivid and descriptive language to evoke images in the readers’ minds.