Tools for Analyzing Rhetoric: - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Tools for Analyzing Rhetoric:The Rhetorical Triangle and SOAPSToneSlide2

What is Rhetoric?As we discussed earlier, Corbet

and Connors describe rhetoric as

“the art or the discipline that deals with the use of written, spoken, or visual discourse to inform, persuade, or motivate an audience.”Slide3

Aristotle and RhetoricThe art of rhetoric has its roots in ancient Greece. The sophists, a group of wise men who advised the government for a fee, emphasized the importance of logical and clear speech when discussing issues of politics.

The philosopher Aristotle split from the sophists and believed rhetoric should be a free endeavor. He wrote a text called

The Art of Rhetoric

which outlined rules how one engaging in rhetoric should behave. Aristotle argued one must use rhetoric “by any means possible” to reach their message to their audience.Slide4

The Speaking Triangle

Aristotle described two ways one can examine rhetoric. The first is called the Speaking Triangle.

Aristotle believed that a the structure and language of an argument are determined by the

interaction between the speaker

, audience,

and subject of a text. Slide5

Speaking Triangle ExampleLet us return to Lou Gehrig’s farewell address:

Speaker: Speakers create a persona, or character in which he/she presents oneself.

Gehrig cast himself as the humble hero who courageously fought a deadly disease

Audience: An audience has an expectation of a speaker that is either confirmed, denied, or altered.

Gehrig’s audience expected him to have self-pity for himself after being diagnosed with a fatal illness, but instead he declared he was “the luckiest man on earth.”

Subject: Subjects are the topic addressed by the speaker and the context in which the speech is given.

Gehrig gave his farewell address at a sold-out Yankee Stadium to announce his sudden retirement. The audience assumed Gehrig would discuss his “bad break,” but instead he gave a motivational speech focusing on how he was “the luckiest man on earth.”Slide6

Speaking Triangle ApplicationWatch the following scene from the movie Braveheart

and identify the

speaker, audience, and subject of this speech.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8449422937652187164&safe=active#Slide7

Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle

A more specific way Aristotle suggested we analyze rhetoric is looking at

Ethos

,

Pathos

,

Logos

, also known as the Rhetorical Triangle. Slide8

Ethos – An Appeal to Character

Aristotle defined

Ethos as an appeal character that demonstrates a speaker is trustworthy

(ie

: street

cred

). A speaker evoking ethos can be a writer, orator, painter, graphic novelists, songwriter, blogger, etc.Slide9

Pathos – An Appeal to Emotion

Aristotle defined

Pathos as a way a speaker engages the audience to illicit an emotional response, be it nostalgia, anger, compassion, etc.

Evoking Pathos is important for a speaker to establish a bond between himself and his audience. Slide10

Logos – An Appeal to Logic

Aristotle

defined Logos as an argument based on evidence such as facts, statistics, testimonies, and those based on logical reasoning and common sense.

Appealing to Logos is important because it demonstrates a speakers expertise on a subject by providing evidence to support her claim. Slide11

As you watch the following clip, identify elements of ethos/pathos/logos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhbDrUDvwH0&p=7BF40A17D30835C9&playnext=1&index=31Slide12

As you watch the following clip, identify elements of ethos/pathos/logos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38qLFOQFTB4Slide13

As you watch the following clip, identify elements of ethos/pathos/logos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_DQUAuNUvwSlide14

SOAPSToneS

peaker – Ethos

O

ccasion – Why and When speech is given.

A

udience – The people who observe or listen to the speech and their expectation and reaction.

P

urpose – What is the speech trying to do to the audience?

S

ubject – What the speech is about?

Tone – The attitude of the speaker.

Another tool one can use to analyze rhetoric is

SOAPSTone

. If the Rhetorical Triangle is a wide angle lens of a speech,

SOAPSTone

is the close-up shot.Slide15

Rhetorical Triangle and SOAPSTone Analysis Example: “The Gettysburg Address”

President Abraham Lincoln delivered “The Gettysburg Address” on November 19, 1863 as a dedication of the memorial for the 50,000+ soldiers who died 4½ months earlier during the Battle of Gettysburg.

The Battle of Gettysburg was a major turning point in the Civil War in which the Union demonstrated it could defend against an all out attack from the Confederacy who intended to invade Washington, D.C.

Lincoln was expected to give a victory speech, but instead his brief 272 words evoked the Declaration of Independence, personal freedoms, and a roadmap on how to repair the shredded ties that divided the nation. “The Gettysburg Address” is considered one of the greatest speeches in the English language.Slide16

Speaker/Audience/SubjectSpeaker: the POTUS, leader of the Union, but also a leader who tries to appeal to his enemy.

Audience:

the 15,000 dignitaries who attended the speech expected Lincoln to give an inspiring victory speech, yet he defied expectation and looked both to the past and the future.

Subject:

“that the government of the people, by the people…shall not perish from the earth.”Slide17

Ethos/Pathos/Logos

Ethos:

Lincoln evoked ethos just being President of the United States. But, he also used his ethos to appeal to the Confederacy. He makes an allusion to the Declaration of Independence declaring “all men are created equal.”

Pathos:

Lincoln appeals to pathos by reflecting on how the living should never “forget what they [the soldiers] did here.” This is significant because he doesn’t distinguish sides, but notes all the fallen soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice for the country.

Logos:

Lincoln appeals to logos by looking to repairing the country after a long Civil War. He discusses “the task before us” and adds “the nation shall have a new birth of freedom” – meaning we shall be a stronger America after we have settled the issues we have struggled during the previous years of war. Slide18

SOAPSToneSpeaker:

The POTUS, but also a

uniter

, rather than a divider.

Occasion:

The dedication of a war memorial .

Audience:

All Americans, especially members of the Confederacy

Purpose:

To motivate, to reflect, to evoke “the angels of our better nature.”

Subject:

“the great task remaining before us.”

Tone:

somber, reconciliatory, optimistic. Slide19

SummarySpeaking Triangle:

-Speaker –Audience –Subject

Rhetorical Triangle:

-Ethos –Pathos –Logos

SOAPSTone

:

-Speaker –Occasion –Audience –Purpose –Subject -ToneSlide20

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