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RHETORIC = The art of persuasion through speaking
and writing.
Persuasion is the PURPOSE of a writer or speaker’s
words (diction) and the arrangement—ordering,
grouping, and placement—of words within a sentence
(syntax).
The question you need to ask is HOW does the author
use words/diction to achieve his PURPOSE, which is to
PERSUADE you to believe his perspective is correct?
Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle
subject
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(#1) Soapstone
S = Speaker: Who? Point of view? Demographics?
O= Occasion: What prompted author to write this?
Time and place? Historical context?
A= Audience: To whom is this speech directed?
Will the audience be biased towards
or open-minded towards the message?
P= PURPOSE:
What? Why? = CLAIM = THESIS
 Is his purpose to entertain, inform,
persuade, express, compare,
satirize, describe, etc.?
 How does he convey his message?
Logically, Emotionally, Ethically?
 The mood/ emotion that a text
is intended to produce in
audience.
S= Subject = main idea = theme
T
O = the author’s attitude/ emotion about the subject
N
and how he reveals it to the audience:
E
 What WORDS (diction) or
rhetorical devices reveal the
author’s attitude/ TONE?
 Are there any shifts in tone?
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(#2) Appeals to:
1. LOGOS = Logic
REASONS (like topic sentences) EX: Reason #1
 Evidence + Support/ Analysis
 Facts + Reason/ Analysis
 Statistics
 Examples
 Expert opinion
2. PATHOS = Emotion
Appealing to people’s value system with:
 Anecdotes (stories)
 Loaded words (diction)
↓
↓
Denotation
Connotation → euphony
→ cacaphony
3. ETHOS = Ethics/ Character
Is the writer/ speaker qualified to be talking
about this subject?
 Reputation: Is he an expert on this topic or
not?
 Persona: What is his character like? Is he
good, sincere, and humble OR bad, sarcastic,
arrogant? Do you trust him or not?
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(#3) Rhetorical Devices

DICTION (words)
Denotation (dictionary definition; the literal definition)
Connotation (Does the word have a positive or negative meaning in society?)
 euphony (words that have a positive, harmonious, melodious sound EX: “bliss”)
 cacaphony (words that have a negative, inharmonious, harsh sound EX: “raunchy”)

SYNTAX (sentence structure—the arrangement of words in a sentence)
 JUXTAPOSITION (two things are set up to be compared/contrasted)
 chiasmus (words or phrases are repeated in reverse order EX Ask not what your country can do
for you, but what you can do for your country” OR “Fair is foul and foul is fair”)


antithesis (two ideas are directly opposed in a parallel way EX “I long and dread to close”)
parallelism (the repetition of words, phrases, or sentences that have similar grammatical
structures or restate a similar idea
 repetition (also known as:
1. anaphora [beginning of line];
2. epistrophe [end of line];
3. refrain [end of stanza with a chorus-like phrase
EX: Quoth the Raven, “Neververmore.”] )
 asyntedon (no conjunctions used)
 polysyntedon (many conjunctions used)

TONE = Emotion
1. Angry
irate, vehement, livid, outraged, annoyed, enraged, furious,
incensed, harsh, cruel, critical
2. Fearful
anxious, nervous, worried, terrified, alarming, upsetting, suspicious
3. Disgusted
appalled, sickened, revolted, disappointed, offended
4. Contemptuous
hateful, disdainful, disrespectful; condescending, arrogant,
supercilious, prideful, overconfident, conceited, vain, smug,
mocking, jealous
5. Joyful
elated, ecstatic, thrilled, delighted, jubilant, grateful, hopeful,
relieved, contented, cheerful, exhilarated, energized, optimistic,
inspirational, humorous (Parody or Satire?), naïve, nostalgic,
reassuring
6. Sad
melancholic, depressing, despondent, poignant, sorrowful,
wretched, gloomy, moody, miserable, hopeless, morose, lamenting,
dejected, pessimistic, restless, discouraged, discontented,
distracted, bittersweet, cynical, sarcastic, SATIRICAL, indifferent,
apathetic, ambivalent, nostalgic, sympathetic
7. Surprised
startled, shocked, bewildered, confused, amazed
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 Figurative Language
1. metaphor (a.k.a. conceit; extended metaphor; analogy)
 synecdoche (a part of the thing represents the whole thing)
 metonymy (something closely related represents the thing)
2. simile
3. personification
 apostrophe (
4. symbol
 allegory (a.k.a. fable; parable)
 Archetype = universal symbol

Imagery (five senses, motion, light and dark)

point of view (first person, second person, third person limited,
third person omniscient, third person objective)

Irony (three kinds: verbal, dramatic, situational)
 hyperbole
 understatement (liotes)
 paradox
 oxymoron

allusion

rhetorical question

SOUND (used mostly with poetry)
 onomatopoeia
 alliteration
 assonance
 consonance
 meter
 Rhyme Pattern
1. End rhyme
2. Internal rhyme
3. Exact rhyme
4. Slant rhyme
 rhyme scheme (aabb or abab)
 enjambment (sentence continues from one line of poetry to next)
 caesura (pause within a line of poetry dictated by natural pause in speech not meter)
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POETRY EXPLICATION STAGES
1. SOAPSTone
 The Occasion and Audience might not always be clear or
identifiable in every poem. This is okay.

However, you MUST clearly determine the Speaker,
PURPOSE, SUBJECT/THEME, and Tone)
 You will get the most mileage out of approaching a poem or
prose by focusing on NARRATIVE VOICE (Speaker +
Point of View) and TONE (shifts in tone). –Lance Balla
2. Rhetorical Devices
 Always remember: Analyze how the diction and syntax help the
author achieve his Purpose, Subject/Theme, and Tone.
 If you know the names of the specific rhetorical devices
(metaphor, imagery, etc.) you should mention that he uses
them, BUT just mentioning that the author uses metaphors,
similes, and imagery is not enough. You MUST explain how
the metaphors, similes, and imagery help create the
author’s Purpose, Subject/Theme, and Tone.
3. Rhyme and Meter
 Sometimes the rhyme and meter help the author achieve his
specific Purpose and Tone or emphasize his Subject/Theme.
Just mentioning that the author uses a specific meter, rhyme
pattern, or rhyme scheme is not enough. You MUST explain
how the meter, rhyme pattern, or rhyme scheme help create
the author’s Purpose, Subject/Theme, and Tone. If you
cannot come up with insightful analysis here, do not
mention meter or rhyme. Instead, focus your analysis on
the language used in step number 2.
 Free Verse—no set rhyme and no set meter
 Blank Verse—no set rhyme but has set meter
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 The Meter and Rhyme will help you identify the type of poem.
Also, knowing the type of poem can help you identify several
of the SOAPSTone items:
LYRIC Poem
(subjective =
author’s personal
feelings)
 Elegy
 Ode
 Villanelle
 Sestina
 Sonnet
 Carpe Diem
 Pastoral/ Idyll
NARRATIVE Poem
(objective =
author tells a story
about someone else)
 Ballad
 Epic