Rhetoric – The art of using language for a specific purpose The art of analyzing all the choices involving language that a writer, speaker, reader, or listener might make in a situation so that the text becomes meaningful, purposeful and effective;

The key to understanding rhetoric is understanding how a writer appeals to his audience. There are three kinds of appeals a writer uses to pull her reader in: – Logos: logical appeal to sense of reason and logic – Ethos: ethical appeal based on writer’s expertise – Pathos: emotional appeal aimed at the reader’s hearts or sense of right and wrong

 Tone: The writer’s (or narrator, speaker, etc.) attitude toward the subject matter or situation in the text (bitter, angry, jovial, etc.)  The writer creates tone by  Word selection (diction)  Arrangement of words (syntax)  Purposeful use of details and images

 Tone sets the relationship between reader and writer  Understanding tone is key to understanding meaning.  It helps you perceive the author’s mood  It makes the connection between the author’s thoughts and its expression.

 Identifying and analyzing tone requires  Careful reading  Sensitivity to diction and syntax  Understanding of detail selection and imagery

 Diction refers to the writer’s choice of words.  Words create color and texture in written work.  Words shape the reader’s perceptions.  Diction reflects the writer’s vision for the work and steers the reader’s thought.

 You must understand both connotations (the meaning suggested by a word) and denotation (the literal meaning of a word).  When a writer calls a character slender, the word evokes a different feeling from calling the character gaunt.

 Diction can bring freshness and originality to writing.  Words used in surprising or unusual ways make us rethink what is known and re-examine meaning of words.

 Examples include facts, observations, and incidents used to develop a subject and impact voice.  Specific details create a precise mental picture  They bring life and color to description  They focus the reader’s attention  They bring the reader into the scene

 Details influence the reader’s view of the topic, the setting, the narrator, and the author.  Details shape attitude by focusing attention:  The more focused the detail, the greater the focus on the object described.

 Imagery, or the use of vivid and descriptive language that appeals to the human senses to add depth to the work; helps us see poetic subjects afresh or anew.  Poetry mostly draws upon the sense of sight to help us form, in our minds, visual impressions  “The Red Wheelbarrow” and “This is Just to Say” are poems that rely heavily on imagery.

 A verbal representation of sensory experience.  All five senses may be represented: ▪ Sight (visual imagery) ▪ Sound (auditory imagery) ▪ Touch (tactile imagery) ▪ Taste (gustatory imagery) ▪ Smell (olfactory imagery)  Visual imagery is most common, but good writers experiment with a variety of images.

 Imagery depends on diction and detail.  An image’s success in producing sensory experience results from ▪ specificity of the author’s diction and ▪ choice of detail.  Imagery contributes to writing by  evoking vivid experience,  conveying specific emotion, and  suggesting a particular idea.

 Figurative language:  Imagery itself is not figurative, but it may be used to impart a figurative or symbolic meaning. ▪ Example: The parched earth ▪ Could be a metaphor for a character’s despair ▪ Example: A bird’s flight ▪ Could be a metaphor for hope

 Traditional imagery typically has a history  A river, for example, is usually associated with life’s journey. ▪ Examples for your own reading?

 Whenever you describe something by comparing it with something else, you are using figurative language.  Examples include:  Simile  Metaphor  Personification  Alliteration  Onomatopoeia  Hyperbole  Idioms  Clichés

 Simile  A simile uses the words “like” or “as” to compare one object or idea with another to suggest they are alike. Example: busy as a bee  Metaphor  The metaphor states a fact or draws a verbal picture by the use of comparison. A simile would say you are like something; a metaphor is more positive - it says you are something. Example: You are what you eat.  Personification  A figure of speech in which human characteristics are given to an animal or an object. Example: My teddy bear gave me a hug.

 Alliteration  The repetition of the same initial letter, sound, or group of sounds in a series of words. Alliteration includes tongue twisters. Example: She sells seashells by the seashore.  Onomatopoeia  The use of a word to describe or imitate a natural sound or the sound made by an object or an action. Example: snap crackle pop  Hyperbole  An exaggeration that is so dramatic that no one would believe the statement is true. Tall tales are hyperboles. Example: He was so hungry, he ate that whole cornfield for lunch, stalks and all.

 Idioms  According to Webster's Dictionary, an idiom is defined as: peculiar to itself either grammatically (as no, it wasn't me) or in having a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements. Example: “At the drop of a hat,” meaning without any hesitation or instantly  Clichés  A cliché is an expression that has been used so often that it has become trite and sometimes boring. Example: It is raining cats and dogs outside!

 Syntax refers to the way sentences are structured.  Although basic structure is prescribed (there must be a subject and a verb; word order cannot be random), there is some wiggle room for style.

 How writers control and manipulate the sentence imparts personality to the writing.  Syntax encompasses  Word order  Sentence length  Sentence focus  Punctuation

 Deviating from the expected word order can serve to startle the reader and draw attention to the sentence.  Most English sentences follow a subject/verb/object/complement pattern  This emphasizes an unusual sentence’s message

 There are several ways to change normal word order:  Inverting the subject and verb ▪ Am I ever sorry!  Placing a complement at the beginning of a sentence ▪ Hungry, without a doubt, he is. ▪ Don’t do this too often—you start to sound like Yoda!  Placing an object in front of a verb ▪ Sara I like—not Susan.

 Good writers shift between conformity and nonconformity, preventing reader complacency without using unusual sentence structure to the point of distraction.

 Length: Writers vary sentence length to prevent reader boredom and to control emphasis.  A short sentence following a much longer sentence shifts the reader’s attention, which emphasizes the meaning and importance of the short sentence. ▪ Learn to look for a relationship between sentence length and emphasis

 Sentences that delay closure until the end are called periodic sentences.  Readers must wait until the end of the sentence to understand the meaning.  Example: As long as we ignore our children and refuse to dedicate the necessary time and money to their care, we will fail to solve the problem of school violence.

 Writers use repetition to achieve sentence focus.  Purposeful repetition of a word, phrase, or clause emphasizes the repeated structure and focuses the reader’s attention on its meaning.

 Writers use punctuation to reinforce meaning.  In particular, semicolons, colons and dashes:  The semicolon gives equal weight to two or more independent clauses in a sentence. It balances parallel ideas and shows that both parts are equally important.

 Writer’s use punctuation to reinforce meaning.  In particular, semicolons, colons and dashes:  The colon directs the readers attention to the words that follow. ▪ It can also be used between two clauses if the second one summarizes or explains the first. ▪ It sets the expectation that important, closely related information will follow, and words after the colon are emphasized

 Writer’s use punctuation to reinforce meaning.  In particular, semicolons, colons and dashes:  The dash marks a sudden change in thought or tone, sets off a brief summary, or sets off a parenthetical part of the sentence. ▪ It often conveys a casual tone. ▪ Used for emphasis