The Geometry of Rhetoric

What is “rhetoric”? We will define “rhetoric” as “the art of persuasion.” That is, how one person (the author, who can be a speaker or a writer) gets another person (the audience) to believe, understand, learn about, or see a certain topic in a certain way. The author uses a text to achieve his goal.

Some background: We will base our understanding of rhetoric and rhetorical strategies on the writings of Aristotle, who wrote a text called Rhetoric hundreds of years ago in Greece. Aristotle wrote about “the speech” rather than “the text,” because in his culture texts were transmitted orally rather than in written form. His observations, however, apply even today to the texts we will analyze in this class.

First, let’s look at the Rhetorical Situation: Our first bit of geometry, a triangle, involves the Rhetorical Situation. At the top of the triangle there is the Author, who will create the Text. The triangle itself represents the Text. TEXT AUTHOR

The Author creates the Text for a specific Audience. If the Audience changes, so will the specifics of the Text. TEXT AUTHOR AUDIENCE

Additionally, the Author creates this Text with a specific Purpose in mind: he wants to persuade his audience of a certain thing. If his purpose changes, so will his Text. TEXT AUTHOR AUDIENCEPURPOSE

These are the elements of the Rhetorical Situation. Identifying these elements within a text is the first step to analysis. TEXT AUTHOR AUDIENCEPURPOSE

Here’s an example: Text: Our syllabus Who is the Author? ENGL Syllabus AUTHOR

Text: Our syllabus Author: Marcie Who is the intended Audience? ENGL Syllabus Marcie

Text: Our syllabus Author: Marcie Intended Audience: Marcie’s Students What is the Purpose? ENGL Syllabus Marcie Marcie ’ s Students

Text: Our syllabus Author: Marcie Audience: Marcie’s Students Purpose: to Inform and Persuade ENGL Syllabus Marcie Marcie ’ s Students Inform & Persuade

And there’s more! Our second triangle looks at specific ways the Author uses to appeal to his Audience. These are called “appeals.”

Rhetorical Appeals The three types of rhetorical appeals roughly correspond to the three points of the Rhetorical Situation triangle. The first of these relates to the Author. It is called Ethos. Ethos

When an Author uses Ethos, he is appealing to our character by presenting his own. He shows us that he is informed, credible, confident, human, etc. His goal is to make us believe him because we trust him. Specific strategies include presentation of a certain kind of voice, characteristics, or persona. Ethos

Pathos The appeal that corresponds to the “Audience” point of the Rhetorical Situation is called Pathos. Pathos deals with the emotions of the Audience. Specific strategies include charged, vivid, evocative language that triggers empathy or sympathy, tone, awareness of the opposition, and awareness of audience concerns. Ethos Pathos

Logos The third appeal is called Logos. This is an appeal to the Audience’s sense of logic or reason. Specific strategies include evidence, organization, if/then situations, and of course the use of logic. Ethos PathosLogos

Remember these triangles! When you look at any text that you want (or are required) to analyze rhetorically, first consider the elements of the Rhetorical Situation. Then ask yourself which appeal(s) and what kinds of strategies the Author uses in order to achieve his Purpose. Text AUTHOR PURPOSEAUDIENCE Ethos PathosLogos