Sequence II
Rhetorical Analysis
History of Rhetoric
Cicero called rhetoric “one great art” comprised of five lesser
arts: inventio, dispositio, elocutio, memoria, and pronunciatio.
These Latin words—meaning roughly invention, arrangement,
style, memory, and delivery—form the 5 canons of classical
rhetoric.
Ancient Greek and Roman rhetoric involved the delivering of
speeches to the masses. Training focused on how to say
something to get what you want from an audience.
Topos/place, physical gestures, enunciation, eloquence etc.
What must an orator do to persuade the audience?
Given this huge focus on persuasion, the negative view of rhetoric
deems it unethical manipulation and trickery.
Aristotle’s Rhetoric – Book I Chapter II
• “Rhetoric may be defined as the faculty of observing in
any given case the available means of persuasion.”
• “Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken
word there are three kinds. The first kind depends on
the personal character of the speaker; the second on
putting the audience into a certain frame of mind; the
third on the proof, or apparent proof, provided by the
words of the speech itself.”
“What is Rhetoric?” (WP 41-45)
• “Rhetoric is about using language purposefully,
in order to get something done in the world” (41).
• Rhetorical situation is “the meaningful context in
which arguments and ideas are shaped and
communicated” (42).
• Rather than mere persuasion only, rhetoric is a
complex persuasive argument.
Remember:
None of the following terms can be isolated. They
are entangled and always influencing each other
(Writing and Place 43).
Things are “dynamic” in that all terms are
“interacting with one other and with the context”
(Everyday Writer 44).
created by David Jolliffe http://giddings.edublogs.org/files/2009/01/jolliffes-rhetorical-framework-diagram-with-filters.pdf
kairos
topic
medium
writer/speaker/author
warrant
fallacy
claim
style
format
the context of a rhetorical act (social environment, time period, political environment,
events compelling one to respond, cultural or institutional conventions etc.)
Rhetorical
Situation
“the interaction between an audience, author, topic, and medium in a specific time and
place” (Writing and Place 42)
Exigence
• the event, or lack of, that compels one to speak
out
• urgent demand for action
Example: 9/11 terrorist attack
- the attack prompted response
- urgent call for action
- rhetoric conveying nationalism and solidarity
- timing was crucial for language’s impact
Audience
•
•
•
•
•
What does the audience already know or think?
What do members need or expect to find out?
What assumptions can be made about them?
What do they value?
How do you want them to react to you and
respond to the information you provide?
Purpose and Intention
• the reason for writing or speaking
• the aim or goal
• related to “exigence” in that something compels
the person to strive to achieve a particular
purpose
• explain? persuade? attack? defend? praise?
blame? teach? entertain? enact change?
Kairos
• timeliness—choosing the right time to
speak/write
• advantageous, exact, or critical time
• a window of time during which action is most
effective
How is kairos different from exigence?
- exigence is an occurrence
- kairos is the time chosen to speak and can
thus be a response to an occurrence
Writer/Speaker/Author
•
•
•
•
What is the person’s rhetorical stance?
What type of attitude towards topic/audience?
What influences this person?
How much does the person know? Does he/she
establish credibility and authority?
• What is his/her public reputation?
• Does the person make any assumptions?
Appeals
Pathos
connecting to the
audience’s values by
appealing to emotions
Time magazine website/Todd Heisler
Time magazine website/Alexandre Meneghini
Pathos
Time magazine website/Mohammad Sajjad
“Casualty A badly wounded man is carried away after a suicide bomber struck
a bazaar in Peshawar, Pakistan.”
Logos
•
•
•
•
using information to appeal to reason
exhibiting one’s knowledge
arguing logically
demonstration of “the truth” (real or apparent)
• Within an argument using logos, however, the
speaker/writer can be making one or more
(sometimes A LOT) of “logical fallacies.”
Ethos
•
•
•
•
attempts to establish credibility and authority
proving one is qualified
representation of one’s character
How the speaker/writer’s experience impacts
the legitimacy of his or her argument
Ex. Martin Luther King, Jr. "Letter from
Birmingham Jail" (Writing and Place pg. 199)
Warrant
• a belief, value, assumption, or experience the
writer/speaker hopes the audience shares or
has in common with him or her
• assumptions of shared truths
• If the audience does not share a writer’s
warrant—assumptions about the subject or the
support—the argument will most likely fail.
Fallacy
• false notion
• a statement or an argument based on a false or
invalid inference
• a gross generalization is a type of fallacy (ex.
Everyone loves ice cream.)
We will be going over specific logical fallacies in a later class.
Surface Features
Style and Format
• Diction: word choice; intentionally choosing
certain words in order to be effectively
persuasive
– ex. Obama campaign
• Figurative language: stylistic devices, such as
metaphors and hyperbole (i.e. exaggeration)
• Imagery: visuals; vivid language to represent
objects, actions, or ideas; creating images that
evoke a certain atmosphere, mood, or tension
• Syntax: grammar and sentence structure
Diction
• Is the language as clear as it needs to be for
the audience?
• What is the tone of the language?
- humorous?
- serious?
- passionate?
- academic?
- sarcastic?
Group Activity
On your way driving to school, you are pulled over for speeding
(you were 10 mph over). Because you walk in too late to class,
you miss the exam and would like the opportunity to take it
another time. Explain the situation in writing:
1. to your parents – using ethos
2. to your parents – using pathos
3. to your parents – using logos
4. to a friend – using ethos
5. to a friend – using pathos
6. to a friend – using logos
7. to your instructor – using ethos
8. to your instructor – using pathos
9. to your instructor – using logos
Post your letter to Blackboard