RHETORIC 101
The rhetoric of today
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKyIw9fs8T4
“Totally Like Whatever” by Taylor Mali
Rhetoric =The manipulation of
language for an intended effect
Political Speeches Love letters
Text messages Memoirs
Literature Poetry
Song lyrics Lectures Pamphlets
Comic Books Protest signs
Bumper Stickers
Rhetorical question
“How many times are you going to make the same mistake before you get it through your thick skull?!?”
ACTIVE vs. PASSIVE VOICE
• “Mistakes were made…”
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
• Metaphor, simile, personification, etc.
• Personification: Giving a non-human entity human characteristics.
• 2 Pac’s gun is personified into a girlfriend: “I'm waitin’ by the phone. This is true love; I could feel it/A lot of women in my bed but you the realest”
–2 Pac “96 Bonnie and Clyde”
REPETITON/ANAPHORA• Anaphora: Repeating a phrase at the beginning of each clause.
• Every little step I take, you will be thereEvery little step I make, we'll be togetherEvery little step I take, you will be thereEvery little step I make, we'll be together –Bobby Brown “Every Little Step”
ANTIMETABOLE/CHIASMUS
• Antimetabole: Repetition of words in successive clauses but transposed in grammatical order
• “The rhythm is the bass and the bass is the treble” --Warren G
• Chiasmus: Transposed grammar only
• “He knowingly led and we followed blindly“ (adverb/verb; verb/adverb)
HYPERBOLE &UNDERSTATMENT
ETHOS, PATHOS, LOGOS
Ethical, emotional, and logical arguments.
JUXTAPOSITION
• Definition: the placement of two things side by side.
ANTITHETICAL JUXTAPOSITION
• Antithesis: the exact opposite
• Antithetical Juxtaposition: polar opposites, side by side
IRONIC JUXTAPOSITION
ANALOGY
SYNTAX
Which one sounds best? Why?
Times like these sure try men’s souls.
How trying it is (for men’s souls) in these times.
These are trying times for the souls of men.
Soul-wise, these are trying times.
These are the times that try men’s souls!
SYNTAX & PUNCTUATION
• Consider the effect of the construction/punctuation:
“On a foggy morning another of the Russians is buried;
almost every day one of them dies” –All Quiet on the Western Front
SYNTAX/PUNCTUATION ANALYSIS TIPS
• Consider the cadence: the rhythm or balance.
• Does it sound lyrical, flowery, ornate?
• Does it sound terse, choppy, or monotone?
• Look for patterns
• Consider sentence length and type
• Consider punctuation choice and placement
• Consider how all of these effects work in concert!
DON’T JUST IDENTIFY THE RHETORIC; ANALYZE
IT!
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