 The art of persuasion It’s a science!

1. Rhetorical Appeals (big picture) 2. Rhetorical Devices (small picture)

 Rhetorical Appeal: Three major elements of persuasion (Aristotle): Ethos Pathos Logos  Use of all three makes the best argument

ETHOS Persuasion based on the author’s credibility We tend to believe those we trust  Education  Expertise  Reputation  Good will

LOGOS  Persuasion based on LOGIC Reasoning Facts Statistics Numbers/Data

PATHOS  Persuasion based on emotion Stories Word Choice Strong images Audience’s values/needs

 Label: Rhetorical Appeals Note Check  What are the three rhetorical appeals?  Define each appeal.  Give your own example for each appeal.

 Language techniques used to emphasize a message and persuade the audience Figures of Speech Repetition Syntax Sound

 Figures of Speech Epic/Extended Simile  Comparing two things with ‘like’ or ‘as’ for several lines  E.g. Incensed with indignation, Satan stood Unterrified, and like a comet burned, That fires the length of Ophiuchus huge In th' arctic sky, and from his horrid hair Shakes pestilence and war. Metaphor  A direct comparison of two unlike things  E.g. “All the world’s a stage”—Shakespeare

 Figures of Speech (Last Slide) Allusion  Reference to something (literature, location, myth, art, etc) either directly or by implication  E.g. “Don’t bite the apple, Eve, caught up in the crowd…” –Jay Z, Empire State of Mind Imagery  Visually descriptive language  “He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache.”— description of Vernon Dursley, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

 Syntax (Sentence structure) Parallel Structure  A balance of two or more similar words, phrases or clauses.  “With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day” –Martin Luther King Jr, “I Have a Dream”

 Syntax (Continued) Rhetorical Question  A question posed for persuasive effect without the expectation of a reply  “How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man?”—Bob Dylan, “Blowin’ in the Wind”

 Repetition Anaphora  Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses  “But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.” –MLK, Jr “I Have a Dream”

 Repetition Polysyndeton  Use of coordinating conjunctions in rapid succession  “And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.” Genesis 7:22-24 Restatement:  Expressing the same idea in different words  “Dear Darla, I hate your stinking guts. You make me vomit. You're scum between my toes! Love, Alfalfa.”—The Little Rascals

 Sound Homonyms  Use of words that sound alike but have different meanings.  “Children need your presence more than your presents.” --Jesse Jackson Alliteration  The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words  Peter Parker, Bruce Banner, Clark Kent, Scott Summers: all names of famous superheroes’ alter egos

 This is not an exhaustive list! Antimetabole (Ask not…) Litotes Antanaclasis (You’ll be fired…) Aposiopesis The list goes on…