Rhetoric Analysis – ML King
Roberta Grandi
Università della Valle d’Aosta
Bibliografia:
• Alan Partington – Charlotte Taylor,
Persuasion in Politics, Milano, Led, 2010
Binomials
(persuasion p. 69)
Two or more words or phrases (belonging to the same
grammatical category), having some semantic relationship and
joined by some syntactic device (and, or).
By and large; time and again
Law and order, assault and battery, aid and abet; on or before,
bow and arrow
Full faith and credit; upon and after; advice and consent, here
and there
Last will and testament; cease and desist, fit and proper; keep
and maintain; new and novel
Bicolons
• Expressions containing two parallel phrases
(more extended than binomials).
• They shall run and not be weary / they shall
walk and not faint
(Bible, Isaiah 40:31)
• Whether you are citizens of America / or
citizens of the world
(John F. Kennedy)
Binomials and Bicolons
The South Africa so many have sacrificed so much to achieve is
within sight. Together let us walk this last, long gruelling mile to
reach a non-racial, non-sexist society, where all our people will
be equal before the law.
Together we have it in our power to defeat those who continue to
kill to maintain the old order. We have it in our power to
transform our country into the peaceful and prosperous
homeland of all our people. Let us work together to achieve these
goals. Let us vow never to celebrate another Christmas in chains.
Nelson Mandela
Binomials and Bicolons
 The South Africa so many have sacrificed so much to achieve is within
sight. Together let us walk this last, long gruelling mile to reach a nonracial, non-sexist society, where all our people will be equal before the
law.
 Together we have it in our power to defeat those who continue to kill to
maintain the old order. We have it in our power to transform our country
into the peaceful and prosperous homeland of all our people. Let us work
together to achieve these goals. Let us vow never to celebrate another
Christmas in chains. We have a right to be free, and we shall be free!
 How is it called the “repetition of a sequence of words at the beginning of
neighbouring clauses”?
 Anaphora
Tricolon (or three-part list)
• The repetition of three items (with possible
variations)
• Ask me my three main priorities for government
and I tell you: education, education and
education.
(Tony Blair)
• It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an
enigma.
(Winston Churchill)
• First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then
they fight you. Then you win.
(Mahatma Ghandi)
Antithesis (or contrasting pair) (p. 73)
• A structure containing two parts which are
parallel in structure but opposed in
meaning.
• So they go on in strange paradox, decided
only to be undecided, resolved to be
irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for
fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.
(Winston Churchill)
Oxymoron
(p. 75)
• A structure in which two apparently
contradictory elements are combined in a
single word, phrase or epigram
• Bittersweet; a deafening silence, noble
savage, being cruel to be kind.
• Very often the opposition is evaluative
Identify binomials, bicolons, or tricolons.
 We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure
these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People
to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its
foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to
them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
(United States Declaration of Independence)
Identify binomials, bicolons, or tricolons.
 We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to
secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their
just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the
People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its
foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to
them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Identify binomials and three- part lists
• We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America,
in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge
of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name,
and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly
publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right
ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved
from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political
connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and
ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent
States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract
Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things
which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of
this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine
Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our
Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
(United States Declaration of Independence)
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of
America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to
the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our
intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good
People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare,
That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be
Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from
all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political
connection between them and the State of Great Britain,
is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and
Independent States, they have full Power to levy War,
conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce,
and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent
States may of right do. And for the support of this
Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of
divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our
Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Who do you think “the Supreme Judge of the world” is?
What other lexis relating to the same topic is present?
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of
America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the
Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions,
do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these
Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united
Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent
States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British
Crown, and that all political connection between them and the
State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and
that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy
War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce,
and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States
may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a
firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually
pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred
Honor.
• The “Supreme Judge” is God. Other
religious lexis includes “Divine Providence”
and “sacred”.
Metaphors
• A figure of speech in which a name or quality is attributed to
something to which it is not literally applicable.
• A word or expression that is used to talk about an entity or
quality other than that referred to by its core, or most-basic
meaning.
• Basis / Grounds: a certain quality usually belonging to an
entity
• Source: the original entity for the grounds
• Target: the different entity to which the quality (grounds) is
applied
• Metaphors always express evaluation
Metaphors
Metaphor
Target
Source
Grounds of
resemblance
evaluation
Richard the
Lion-Heart
Richard
The lion’s
heart
Courage,
strength
Good
Sally is a block
of ice
Sally
Block of ice
Coldness
bad
Metaphors
Metaphor
Target
Source
Grounds of
resemblance
evaluation
Richard the
Lion-Heart
Richard
The lion’s
heart
Courage,
strength
Good
Sally is a block
of ice
Sally
Block of ice
Coldness
bad
James is a fox
James
The fox
Cunning,
smart
good
Juliet is the
sun
Metaphors
Metaphor
Target
Source
Grounds of
resemblance
evaluation
Richard the
Lion-Heart
Richard
The lion’s
heart
Courage,
strength
Good
Sally is a block
of ice
Sally
Block of ice
Coldness
bad
James is a fox
James
The fox
Cunning,
smart
good
Juliet is the
sun
Juliet
The sun
Bright,
luminous
The centre of
Romeo’s
existence
good
Metaphors
Metaphor
A puppet
government
Operation
Desert Storm
Sunshine
government
Crusade
against terror
Target
Source
Grounds of
resemblance
evaluation
Metaphors
Metaphor
Target
Source
Grounds of
resemblance
evaluation
A puppet
government
The
government
A puppet
Manipulated /
moved by
someone else
bad
Operation
Desert Storm
Operation
Desert storm
Sudden,
deadly, in an
Arabic place
Good
Sunshine
government
government
Sunshine
Light, clarity,
transparency
good
Crusade
against terror
Terror
Crusade
Religious war,
dedication
Good / bad
according to
the public
Similes
Simile
Encyclopaedias
are like gold
mines
Milosevic is like
a junior-league
Hitler.
Target
Source
Grounds of
resemblance
Evaluation
Similes
Simile
Target
Encyclopaedias
are like gold
mines
Milosevic is like
a junior-league
Hitler.
Source
Grounds of
resemblance
Evaluation
encyclopaed Gold mines
ias
Rich of
precious
things if you
dig in
Good
Milosevic
a) An evil
dictator
b) Minor,
inferior
Bad
junior-league
Hitler
Metonymies
 In a metonymy, some entity is alluded to by mention of
something else connected or associated with it.
 The Crown
 The bottle
 New faces
 Lend a hand
 New blood
 A head-count
 Some metonymies can be topological
 Washington, the White House, Downing Street, il Vaticano
 We have always remained loyal to the crown.
 The crown here stands to symbolize the king of a
particular country. This metonymy is used commonly
when talking or writing.
 The House was called to order.
 This means that the 'members' of a House, assuming that
it's a House of Parliament, were called to order.
 He is a man of cloth.
 This only means to say that the man who the sentence is
talking about is a man who belongs to a religious sect;
cloth signifies the 'robes' worn by religious men.
 She works with a newspaper.
 Here newspaper stands to represent a group of journalists
and editors working together to write news.
 “The pen is mightier than the sword”
 (Edward Bulwer Lytton's play Richelieu).
 Identify and explain the metonymy/ies in this
sentence
 The "pen" stands in for "the written word"
 The "sword" stands in for "military aggression
and force“
 The rhetoric expression is used to underline
the power of written papers which can go
beyond that of physical strength.
Personification
• is giving human traits (qualities, feelings,
action, or characteristics) to non-living
objects (things, colors, qualities, or ideas).
• For example: The window winked at me.
• The verb, wink, is a human action. A
window is a non-living object.
Personification
 Identify the object being personified and the meaning
of the personification.
 The wind sang her mournful song through the falling
leaves.
 The video camera observed the whole scene.
 The strawberries seemed to sing, "Eat me first!"
 The rain kissed my cheeks as it fell.
 The daffodils nodded their yellow heads at the walkers.
 The china danced on the shelves during the earthquake.
 The car engine coughed and sputtered when it started
during the blizzard.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
I Have a Dream
delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.
http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/speech-analysis-dream-martin-luther-king/
1. Can you recognize two quotations from
one of the texts analysed before? Why
does King use them?
2. Identify two anaphoras.
3. Identify the repetition of one parallel
structure.
4. In paragraphs 3-4 we find an extended
metaphor, what is it? Underline all
related vocabulary.
5. Identify and analyse a simile
6. What is the meaning of the idiomatic
expression “to blow off steam”?
7. ML King was a clergyman. What elements
of his language make it evident?
8. Identify a bicolon.
9. Identify and analyse three metaphors.