What is Rhetoric? APLAC Intro 2010-2011

Rhetoric is: “The faculty of finding all the available means of persuasion in a particular case” -Aristotle

“Particular case” = rhetoric capitalizes on specific situations “Faculty” = an improvable art “Finding” does not necessarily mean using “Available means” = EVERYTHING a writer/speaker might do with language “Persuasion” = the writer’s/speaker’s aim to shape people’s thoughts and actions “Particular case” = rhetoric capitalizes on specific situations

TO SUM IT UP: Rhetoric is the art of being a critical reader in order to find the ways that a writer or speaker uses language to shape people’s thoughts and actions in a given situation.

What is Reading Critically?? Reading critically is searching for EVERYTHING the writer does in order to be persuasive in a given situation and striving to understand the impact these items have on the situation. The place to start is with the situation.

The Situation Exigence Something sticking in the craw of the writer or speaker that needs speaking or writing about Speaker What we know about the speaker/writer and their personal situation must be considered in order to fully understand the use of rhetorical techniques Audience We must be certain that we consider ALL audiences. Most situations have both a primary and secondary audience in mind. Purpose What does the speaker/writer hope the audience will DO with the material presented.

EVERYTHING a writer may do with language… The rhetorical appeals Choices made by the writer/speaker Parts of the text that work together to achieve meaning, purpose, and effect Pathos Ethos Logos Organization Tone Schemes Tropes

The Rhetorical Appeals Ethos: Credibility Speaker/ Writer uses their authority or knowledge base Use of research can substitute for a lack of ethos Logos: Logical The embodied thought of the text ALL texts use logic Enthymemes Syllogisms Pathos: Emotional Tugging at the heart strings of your reader

TONE Writer or speaker’s apparent attitude toward the subject matter and/or issue Tone is established in the nuances of a text You infer the tone by examining the arrangement and style of a text—diction, syntax, imagery, figurative language, etc. Claims about the tone are an argument (created by you) which MUST be supported by evidence from the text.

ORGANIZATION Arrangement, Organization, Structure—the way the text is set up. How can the text be divided into parts? What is the function of each part? How are they the same? How are they different? Do they show progression? Do they digress? Is it logical? Illogical? In all cases, we ask “SO WHAT”?

Tropes and Schemes Tropes = Diction Rhetorical techniques/strategies which impact the meaning of the words used. > Alliteration > Metonymy > Repetition > Aphorism > Oxymoron > Simile > Euphemism > Parable > Synecdoche > Hyperbole > Paradox > Irony > Personification > Metaphor > Pun Schemes = Syntax Rhetorical techniques/strategies which keep the traditional meaning of the words, but change, instead, the arrangement and structure. > Alliteration > Parallelism > Anaphora > Polysyndeton > Asyndeton > Onomatopoeia > Chiasmus

Things to Determine What the text means What are the primary and secondary purposes What effect the author intended Why the author was compelled to write Who are the primary and secondary audiences HOW ARE THESE THINGS CREATED?? (The answer to this is your analysis!)

The Rhetorical Framework EXIGENCE RHETORICAL SITUATION AUDIENCE PURPOSE LOGOS APPEALS ETHOS PATHOS ORGANIZATION/STRUCTURE/FORM FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE DICTION SYNTAX IMAGERY SURFACE FEATURES