Rhetoric is the art of enchanting the soul The art of winning the soul by discourse Aristotle Rhetoric is the faculty of discovering in any particular case all of the available means of persuasion ID: 659813
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Slide1
Rhetorical KeystonesSlide2
Plato: [Rhetoric] is the "art of enchanting the soul." (The art of winning the soul by discourse.)
Aristotle
: Rhetoric is "the faculty of discovering in any particular case all of the available means of persuasion."Cicero: "Rhetoric is one great art comprised of five lesser arts: inventio, dispositio, elocutio, memoria, and pronunciatio." Rhetoric is "speech designed to persuade."
What Is Rhetoric?Slide3
Essential Elements in Rhetoric
Speaker
AudienceWhat is the purpose?
What is the context?
What is the subject?
What is the tone?
What strategies are used?
What is the exigency?
The “text”Slide4
D
iction
AppealsRhetorical devicesToneLiterary devices
E
xigency
S
yntax
S
tructure
Tools for Examining RhetoricSlide5
Creates tone, attitude, and styleWhy does the “speaker”
choose the words and phrases that he does?What denotation do the words have?What connotation do the words have?1. Diction = Word ChoiceSlide6
Grammatical constructionSimpleComplex
Repetition
InvertedQuestionsImperativesExclamationsPunctuationParallelism2. Syntax = Sentence ConstructionSlide7
AllegoryAlliterationAllusion
Figurative language
(metaphor, simile, non-literal language)Imagery (sensory images)Irony/satire/parodyMetonymy (representative term used for actual object: White House)MotifOnomatopoeiaOxymoronPersonificationPun
Synecdoche
(part represents the whole: “all hands on deck”)
3. Literary /Rhetorical Devices
Literary devices:Slide8
Rhetorical devices:Antithesis
(two contrasting images/phrases)
Hyperbole (“this is the most used strategy of all time!”)Deduction/Induction (general to details/details to general)PacingRhetorical questionUnderstatementEllipsis (. . .)Anaphora (“I came, I saw, I conquered.”)
Literary / Rhetorical
Devices (cont.)Slide9
Induction/deductionExamplesCompare/contrast
Cause and effect
ClassificationProcessDefinitionNarrationDescriptionSpatial4. Overall StructureSlide10
Exposition = illustrates a point
Narration
= tells a storyDescription = creates a sensory imageArgumentation = takes a position on an issue and defends itRelated to “Modes of Discourse”Slide11
EthosLogosPathos
5. AppealsSlide12
What does the
person tell us about
him or her?How trustworthy is the speaker?How valid is the information the speaker uses?How biased is the speaker?EthosSlide13
What kind of information is used?How reliable is the information?
How logical is the information?
How “documented” is the information?LogosSlide14
How does the speaker appeal to our emotions?How much does the speaker make us feel about the subject of his or her message?
What kind of emotional responses does the audience have about the message?
PathosSlide15
What is the purpose of the speaker’s message?What is the speaker’s attitude towards his or her subject?
What is the speaker’s attitude towards his or her audience?
6. Tone and PurposeSlide16
angrysharpupset
silly
boringafraidhappyhollowjoyfulallusivesweetvexedtiredbitterdreamyrestrainedprouddramaticsad
cold
urgent
joking
poignant
detached
confused
childish
peacefulmockingobjectivevibrantfrivolous
audaciousshockingsombergiddyProvocative
sentimentalFancifulcondescendingsympatheticcontemptuous
apologetichumoroushorrificsarcasticnostalgic
zealousirreverent
Some TonesSlide17
What is the context of the “text”?What is the need for this message?
What does the “world” lack that is being argued for in the “text”?
7. ExigencySlide18
Activities to Practice
Rhetorical AnalysisSlide19
Practicing Rhetorical Analysis with a FilmSlide20
This film is a fictionalized account of the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BCE
where an alliance of Greek city-states fight the invading Persian army in the mountain pass of Thermopylae. Though the oracles and the elders of Sparta warn King Leonidas not to fight the Persians (a force of over 100,000 soldiers!), he still does, enlisting the help of 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians, and a few other slave soldiers. Vastly outnumbered, the Spartans hold-off the Persians for three days, but they need reinforcements. The king’s wife, Queen Gorgo
, asks the Spartan Council to send in the rest of the Spartan army
to help the 300. This is her speech to the Spartan Council.
Rhetorical Context of
300Slide21
Take notes on the text of the speech.http://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/moviespeech300queengorgo.html
AssignmentSlide22
Watch speech again, paying special
attention to the audience’s reaction and
the strategies that Gorgo uses.What strategies does she use?Prompt: “Write an essay that defines the central argument of Queen Gorgo’s speech and analyze the rhetorical strategies that she employs in her argument.”
Gorgo
SpeechSlide23
Councilmen, I stand before you today not only as your Queen: I come to you as a mother; I come to you as a wife; I come to you as a Spartan woman; I come to you with great humility.
I am not here to represent
Leonidas; his actions speak louder than my words ever could. I am here for all those voices which cannot be heard: mothers, daughters, fathers, sons -- 300 families that bleed for our rights, and for the very principles this room was built upon. We are at war, gentlemen. We must send the entire Spartan army to aid our King in the preservation of not just ourselves, but of our children.Send the army for the preservation of liberty. Send it for justice. Send it for law and order. Send it for reason. But most importantly, send our army for hope -- hope that a king and his men have not been wasted to the pages of history -- that their courage bonds us together, that we are made stronger by their actions, and that your choices today reflect their bravery.
Text of the Queen
Gorgo’s
SpeechSlide24
More Practice: Word Choice & Allusion in Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising”Slide25
Bruce Springsteen was born on September 23, 1949, in New Jersey.
His songs focus on “heartland rock,” with poetic lyrics and Americana elements. Much of his writing focuses on working class people on the East coast.
Some of his best known albums are Born to Run, Born in the USA, and The Rising. He likes “thematic” albums.Besides selling more than 65 million albums in the United States and 120 million worldwide
,
he has earned at least 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, and an Academy Award.
Rolling Stone Magazine
ranked him as the 23rd greatest artist of all time in its 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list.
Some Background on SpringsteenSlide26
Can't see nothin' in front of me
Can't see
nothin' coming up behindI make my way through this darknessI can't feel nothing but this chain that binds meLost track of how far I've goneHow far I've gone, how high I've climbedOn my back's a sixty pound stoneOn my shoulder a half mile of lineCome on up for the risingCom on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight
Left the house this morning
Bells ringing filled the air
I was
wearin
' the cross of my calling
On wheels of fire I come
rollin' down hereCome on up for the risingCome on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the risingCome on up for the rising tonight
Li,li, li,li,li,li, li,li,li
There's spirits above and behind meFaces gone black, eyes burnin' bright
May their precious blood bind meLord, as I stand before your fiery lightLi,li
, li,li,li,li, li,li,liI see you Mary in the garden
In the garden of a thousand sighsThere's holy pictures of our childrenDancin' in a sky filled with light
May I feel your arms around meMay I feel your blood mix with mineA dream of life comes to meLike a catfish dancin
' on the end of the lineSky of blackness and sorrow (a dream of life)Sky of love, sky of tears (a dream of life)
Sky of glory and sadness (a dream of life)
Sky of mercy, sky of fear (a dream of life)
Sky of memory and shadow (a dream of life)
Your
burnin
' wind fills my arms tonight
Sky of longing and emptiness (a dream of life)
Sky of fullness, sky of blessed life (a dream of life)
Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight
Li,li
,
li,li,li,li
,
li,li,li
Copyright © 2002 Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP)
Listen to the Song “The Rising”Slide27
Write down many details about the narrator and make inferences about the narrator? (who, what, where, when, how, and why) And the audience?
Word choice: what is the significance/meaning of these words and phrases? Especially note the
italics."this chain that binds me""sixty pound stone""Left the house this morning""bells ringing"
"
Wearin
' the cross of my calling"
"wheels of fire"
"
rollin
' down
here""Faces gone black"
"Mary in the garden""garden of a thousand sighs""catfish
dancin' on the end of a line""lay your hands in mine""dream of life"
"li, li, li
, li, li, li,
li, li, li"
Answer Questions about “The Rising”Slide28
Why use the pairs of words after each "Sky of" phrase? What is the effect?
Explain the meaning of the four lines of the chorus: "Come on up for the rising" etc.
What is the mood of the song? (How does it feel?)Why is the song called "The Rising"?What is the message of this song?More QuestionsSlide29
One person’s interpretation: http://teachertrenches.blogspot.com/2008/09/springsteens-rising-and-september-11th.html
It earned Grammy awards for Best Rock Song and Best Male Rock Performance of the year. Rolling Stone
named it the 35th best song of the decade.During the 2008 U.S. presidential election, "The Rising" was first used as a closing campaign rally song by the John Edwards campaign. Despite the song's grim setting, the "Rise up" refrain matched the closing exhortation of Edwards' speeches. The
Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign
then began to use the song as well,
especially at the end of her rallies or victory celebrations. Following Springsteen's April 2008 endorsement of
Barack Obama
,
the Obama campaign began replacing
U2's "City of Blinding Lights" with "The Rising" as their commencement-of-rally song.
(From wikipedia.com)
More Information about “The Rising”Slide30
The song was also played immediately following Obama's victorious presidential acceptance speech on the night of November 4, 2008 in Grant Park
in
Chicago. Rolling Stone later remarked of its use there, "when its metaphor of struggling through darkness was blasted at Obama's victory celebration, it became a national anthem for the 21st century.” (from wikipedia.com)More on the SongSlide31
Key Elements in an Opening Paragraph
Author and title of the piece.
Thesis that answers what the prompt is askingNormally, this includes the meaning of the piece with the elements that convey the meaningDevices that help interest the reader to continue your essayBUT NOT TOO LONG! (4 to 5 sentences)Slide32
Tips on Writing Body Paragraphs
Try to organize paragraphs around a major stylistic device being used in the passage.
This is where you present your analysis related to what you said in the opening paragraph.As much as possible, use quotations, specific references, and details from the passage.Place quotation marks around the words, phrases, and sentences that you take from the passage.
You should be referring to the key ideas from the prompt
from
your opening paragraph.Slide33
Remember that the biggest difference between the mediocre/average essay and the excellent essay is the ability to explain
how
the strategies that you identify help to explain the meaning of the text!It’s your ability to answer the question: SO WHAT?!?!?!?
Big Difference!