Useful Persuasive Techniques
Emotional Appeal
appeal to fear, anger, joy (and more!) to sway readers
i.e. "And finding only the same old stupid plan / Of dog eat
dog, of mighty
crush the weak" ("Let America Be America
Again", l.23-24)
Repetition
use sparingly for effect (too much is annoying)
repeat a word, phrase, or sentence
i.e. "never was America to me" ("Let America", l.5, 10)
Parallel Structure
balancing a sentence (or poetic line) by re-using the same word
structure
"I am the farmer... / I am the worker... / I am the Negro... / I am
the people" ("Let America", l.31-34)
Analogy
using comparisons (metaphors, similes) and figures of speech
"From those who live like leeches on the people's lives / We
must take back
our land again" ("Let America", l.72-73)
Allusions
references to historical texts, events, people, places
"We, the people" ("Let America, l.83) is reminiscent of the first
lines of the
United States' Constitution