Rhetoric
What is rhetoric? In classical times, a rhetor was defined as “the good person speaking well” Basically, rhetoric is: * Speaking or writing effectively * Using words for a purpose, often to persuade So, it is what a speaker or writer says, and how he/she says it, for a specific purpose
What is rhetoric? More specifically, rhetoric is: *What a writer or speaker does that causes a text/speech to become meaningful, purposeful, and effective * A reader or listener analyzing how the writer or speaker’s choices make the text become meaningful, purposeful, and effective
What is the Author’s purpose? What does the author/ speaker/ filmmaker/ advertiser, etc. want the reader, listener, viewer to Feel? Think? Do? What does he use to convince us to feel / think/ do what he wants us to?
Persuasive Techniques Aristotle’s 3 Appeals: Logos Ethos Pathos
Appeals: How to Persuade Ethos: appeals to a sense of character, credibility, authority. The writer makes a good impression. The reader believes the writer knows what he or she is talking about. The speaker’s ethos is his expertise, knowledge, experience, training, sincerity, or a combination.
Ethos Involves appeals to: The conscience Ethics Morals Standards Values Principles Author or speaker tries to convince you that He is of good character Is qualified to make his claims Author or speaker: Cites relevant authorities Quotes others accurately and fairly
Appeals: How to Persuade Logos: appeals to reason, sense of logic. Solid facts Sound argument Acknowledge the counterargument Concession and refutation
Logos Using logos involves: Facts or research Quoted authorities Cause and effect information Analogies and comparisons Common sense information
Appeals: How to Persuade Pathos: writer/speaker draws on the emotions and interests of the audience Figurative language Personal anecdote First person Strong connotations.
Pathos Involves appeals to: The heart Emotions Sympathy Passions Sentimentality It may also involve imagery and figurative language
Rhetoric in advertising http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom- resources/lesson-plans/video/persuasive- techniques-advertising-1166.html
Rhetorical techniques / devices Themes: The central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers into life. Linking devices that hold a text together structurally, e.g. the battle between good and evil Usually theme is unstated in fictional works, but in nonfiction, the theme may be directly state, especially in expository or argumentative writing. Repetition of certain words: Why, with all the words at his or her disposal, does a writer choose to repeat particular words or phrases?
Rhetorical techniques / devices Imagery: language that evokes one or all of the five senses: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching. Metaphor and symbolism: Non-literal, imaginative substitutions in which, for instance, a tree becomes a metaphor for family, or springtime symbolizes rebirth. Winter, darkness, and the cold are real things, but in literature they are also likely to be used as symbols of death. For example, the color green might represent ecology, environmental issues or money.
Rhetorical techniques / devices Style, tone, voice: Gut reactions are useful here. Examine your own responses. What is it that makes you respond as you do? Are you the author’s intended audience? If not, who is? The attitude a writer takes towards a subject or character: serious, humorous, sarcastic, ironic, satirical, tongue-in-cheek, solemn, objective. Analogy: compares two things, which are alike in several respects, for the purpose of explaining or clarifying some unfamiliar or difficult idea or object by showing how the idea or object is similar to some familiar one. . . . For answers successfully arrived at are solutions to difficulties previously discussed, and one cannot untie a knot if he is ignorant of it. – Aristotle .
Rhetorical techniques / devices Hyperbole: Exaggeration or overstatement. Allusion: A reference to something real or fictional, to someone, some event, or something in the Bible, history, literature, or any phase of culture.
Rhetorical techniques / devices Irony: use of a word in such a way as to convey a meaning opposite to the literal meaning of the statement A situation or statement characterized by significant difference between what is expected or understood and what actually happens or is meant. Irony is frequently humorous, and can be sarcastic when using words to imply the opposite of what they normally mean
Rhetorical techniques / devices Oxymoron: A contradiction in terms Such as faithless devotion, searing cold, deafening silence, virtual reality, act naturally, peacekeeper missile, or larger half Symbolism: is using an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning. Examples: dawn symbolizing hope or a new beginning, a rose symbolizing love, a tree symbolizing knowledge
Rhetorical techniques / devices Sarcasm: a form of verbal irony in which apparent praise is actually bitterly or harshly critical. For example, a coach saying to a player who misses the ball, "Nice catch." Satire: literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice or weakness, often with the intent of correcting, or changing, the subject of the satiric attack. One of the most interesting features of satire is that it is almost universally believed to be a persuasive writing form. In actuality, it appears that most written satire actually fools most of its readers, so that, far from being persuasive, it is often not even understood.