Letter from a Birmingham Jail
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For two classes from now, I’d like you to
highlight and annotate your copy of “Letter
from a Birmingham Jail,” with a focus on
rhetoric.
Color-code the major Greek rhetorical
strategies.
Point out other examples of good rhetoric.
This PowerPoint will provide a basic review of
some terms you could consider.
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Dad, I know you’re going to say I shouldn’t be
able to borrow the car again – because last
time I drove into that house and all – but next
time I promise I’ll be more careful.
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One of the basic Greek rhetorical strategies
Use of emotional appeal
For only 15 cents a day, you too can save a
starving animal.
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One of the basic Greek rhetorical strategies
Use of an appeal to authority
You can’t tell me I can’t eat in class – Mr. Ross
said it was OK!
Considering I am an Eagle Scout, I probably
would know how to tie knots.
According to the Bible…
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One of the basic Greek rhetorical strategies
Use of an appeal to logic
Think facts and figures and logical if-then
statements
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A form of reasoning that proceeds by
juxtaposing contradictory ideas and
synthesizing or finding areas of agreement
between them.
Sort of like a Venn diagram does, right?
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To move off track from the main subject.
Did I ever tell you about the time that I went
snowtubing on an active volcano? Ah, but I
digress.
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Repetition of words at the beginning of
phrases.
“I have a dream…I have a dream…I have a
dream…” – MLK
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Repetition of words at the end of phrases.
It’s like anaphora at the end of a sentence.
You work hard in school because you’re a
great student. You do all of your homework
because you’re a great student. You’ll ace this
test because you’re a great student.
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A sentence that delays the introduction of
the subject or the verb until the end.
Just when you thought he couldn’t get
nerdier, Mr. Ambrose brought back the rat
tail.
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Repetition of a clause of the word that
appeared at the beginning of the clause.
“To each the boulders that have fallen to
each.” – Robert Frost
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The correspondence of words within
successive sentences or clauses.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice
everywhere.”
You might also note this as epanalepsis, or as
parallel structure – and you’d be right!