THE RHETORICAL
TRIANGLE
WHAT IS RHETORIC?
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WHAT IS SAID (MESSAGE)
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WHO IS SAYING IT (SPEAKER)
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WHO IS LISTENING (AUDIENCE)
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WHERE / WHEN IT IS BEING SAID (CONTEXT/APPEAL TO AUDIENCE)
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WHY IT IS BEING SAID (PURPOSE)
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HOW IT IS BEING SAID (TONE AND STYLE)
WHAT IS THE RHETORICAL TRIANGLE?
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SHOWS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPEAKER, AUDIENCE, MESSAGE,
STYLE, PURPOSE, TONE
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UNDERSTANDING THESE RHETORICAL ELEMENTS MAKES BOTH READING
AND WRITING MUCH CLEARER
THE RHETORICAL TRIANGLE
THE AUTHOR / SPEAKER
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GENDER / RACIAL / GEOGRAPHICAL/ SOCIOECONOMIC/ POLITICAL
ORIENTATION OF AUTHOR
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AUTHOR BIAS / HIDDEN AGENDA
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OTHER IMPORTANT BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION MAY AFFECT TEXT
THE AUDIENCE
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ARE THEY FRIEND OR FOE? (HOSTILE OR SYMPATHETIC)
HOW WILL THEY RECEIVE THE MESSAGE?
HOW WILL THEY AFFECT TONE? STYLE?
WHO IS THE INTENTIONAL AUDIENCE?
WHO IS THE UNINTENTIONAL AUDIENCE?
OVER TIME, DOES THE MESSAGE/EFFECT OF THE MESSAGE CHANGE AS
THE AUDIENCE CHANGES?
THE MESSAGE
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WHAT IS THE MAIN POINT BEING MADE? IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT IS THE
WRITER’S / SPEAKER’S THESIS?
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LOOK AT THE MESSAGE AS AN ARGUMENT / POSITION BEING SOLD TO THE
AUDIENCE. WHAT IS THE AUTHOR TRYING TO CONVINCE THE AUDIENCE
OF?
THE
MESSAGE
● CONSIDER THIS WHEN TRYING TO IDENTIFY THE EXACT
MESSAGE:
– WHAT IS THE TOPIC (1-2 WORDS) ABOUT WHICH THE PIECE IS
WRITTEN?
– WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OR PERSPECTIVE
ABOUT THAT TOPIC THAT THE AUTHOR WANTS YOU TO
UNDERSTAND?
– WHAT, EXACTLY, DOES THE AUTHOR WANT THE READER TO
THINK/DO/FEEL/SAY?
– WHAT IS THE “NO” ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE AUTHOR’S
“YES?” (AND VICE VERSA)
THE TONE
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WHAT IS THE AUTHOR’S ATTITUDE ABOUT HIS / HER SUBJECT /
MESSAGE?
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WHAT WORDS IN THE MESSAGE LET YOU KNOW THE TONE?
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HOW DOES THE SELECTION OF THE TONE AFFECT THE AUDIENCE’S
RECEPTION OF THE MESSAGE? IS IT APPROPRIATE FOR THE
OCCASION/SUBJECT MATTER?
THE TONE
VERY OFTEN, TONE WORDS WILL VARY IN MEANING
ONLY IN THE DEGREE OF INTENSITY, IN THE
“POSITIVENESS” OR “NEGATIVENESS.”TAKE A LOOK AT
THE TONE WORDS ON THE FOLLOWING SLIDE. CAN YOU
CATEGORIZE THESE WORDS INTO GROUPS (POSITIVE/
NEGATIVE, SPECIFIC DEGREES OF EMOTION)? CAN YOU
TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WORD PAIRS?
THE TONE
ZEALOUS
APATHETIC
CONDESCENDING
REMORSEFUL
CONCILIATORY
RESIGNED
SELF-DEPRECATING
SARDONIC
RETICENT
DETACHED
SARCASTIC
COMPLIMENTARY
NOSTALGIC
HAUGHTY
IRREVERENT
THE STYLE
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WHAT STRATEGIES DOES THE AUTHOR EMPLOY IN ORDER TO GET HIS /
HER MESSAGE ACROSS?
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THESE STRATEGIES MAY INCLUDE: ETHOS, LOGOS, PATHOS;
ORGANIZATION; DICTION; SYNTAX; FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE;
GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE; SELECTION OF DETAILS; IMAGERY
THE RHETORICAL PURPOSE
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UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES IS THE AUTHOR ADDRESSING HIS/HER
AUDIENCE?
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IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE WORLD AT THE TIME THIS
TEXT WAS COMPOSED, AND HOW DO THOSE EVENTS AFFECT THE TEXT?
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WHAT IS THE “NO” ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE AUTHOR’S “YES”?
THE RHETORICAL PURPOSE
THERE ARE FOUR MAIN “PURPOSES” FOR ARGUMENTATION:
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TO ASSERT
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TO INQUIRE
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TO DOMINATE
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TO NEGOTIATE/RECONCILE
RHETORICAL
APPEALS
• ETHOS APPEALS TO THE WRITER’S CHARACTER –
• ETHOS CAN ALSO BE THOUGHT OF AS THE ROLE OF THE WRITER IN THE
ARGUMENT, AND HOW CREDIBLE HIS/HER ARGUMENT IS.
• LOGOS APPEALS TO REASON –
• LOGOS CAN ALSO BE THOUGHT OF AS THE TEXT OF THE ARGUMENT, AS WELL AS
HOW WELL A WRITER HAS ARGUED HIS/HER POINT.
• PATHOS APPEALS TO THE EMOTIONS AND THE SYMPATHETIC IMAGINATION,
AS WELL AS TO BELIEFS AND VALUES –
• PATHOS CAN ALSO BE THOUGHT OF AS THE ROLE OF THE AUDIENCE IN THE
ARGUMENT.
RHETORICAL
SOAPSTONE
•S=SPEAKER
•O=OCCASION
•A=AUDIENCE
•P=PURPOSE
•S=SUBJECT
•TONE
SUMMARY
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REMEMBER – IT IS NOT ONE OF THESE ELEMENTS OF THE RHETORICAL
TRIANGLE THAT CAN BE USED TO ANALYZE A TEXT; IT IS THE
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THESE RHETORICAL ELEMENTS THAT
COMPOSES THE MEANING WE GET FROM A TEXT!
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TRUE ANALYSIS IS NOT ONLY THE WHAT, BUT ALSO THE WHY AND THE
HOW!