SOAPSTone
Let’s Get Started…
1)Who is the Speaker? (The voice that tells the story.)
Remember that it is not enough simply to name the
speaker. What can you say about the speaker based
on references to the text?
Non-Fiction – the author/speaker and any background information that might
bear upon his/her text.
Fiction – the narrator, not the author, and any implied traits or characteristics
that might influence the text.
Students should go beyond merely identifying the Speaker by name
(occasionally, none will be given). They should be able to apply outside
knowledge to Speaker, or infer traits from the text itself.
What is the Occasion? (The time and the place of the piece; the
context that encouraged the writing to happen.)
Be certain to discuss both of the following:
• Larger occasion - those issues or ideas that must have made
the speaker think about this incident
• Immediate occasion - the specific cause of the document
Non-Fiction – the event that triggered the response
Fiction – the primary, specific event being discussed (summary)
Students should contextualize historical events or the “environment of ideas”
that led to a text being produced. Students should also be able to summarize
the events in a few words or phrases.
Who is the Audience? (The group of readers/listeners to
whom a piece is directed.)
It's not enough to say "anyone who reads it." You will
want to identify a certain audience by describing
some of its characteristics.
Non-Fiction and Fiction – the specific person, small group, or larger group a
piece is aimed at
There may be multiple audiences, and the audience(s) may need to be
discovered through student inference of the level of discourse in the text, the
diction, the connation of chosen words, and the traits of the Speaker.
What is the Purpose? The reason behind the text?
(The purpose could be personal or directed to an
audience.)
Decide what the message is and how the author wants
the audience to respond.
Non-Fiction – what the Speaker wants the Audience to think or do as a result of
reading/listening to the piece
Fiction – the larger “point” being examined in the piece; the “theme” presented
Students should apply social, cultural, historical, etc. perspectives to a text to discover what
the author/Speaker is attempting to reveal about those perspectives. They should be able
to examine the logic of the argument and/or the themes and interpretations being
presented.
What is the Subject? (The general topic, content, and
ideas contained in the text.)
You should be able to state the subject in a few
words or a very short phrase.
Non-Fiction and Fiction – the larger context of the text (related to
Occasion and Purpose)
Students should go beyond the immediate occasion to discover the
larger context or issue that eventually led to the triggering Occasion.
This should be stated in a few words or a phrase.
What is the Tone? (The attitude of the author/Speaker.)
Try to choose a description of the tone that fits the piece
as a whole. Include specific words or phrases from the text
and explain how they support your statement.
Non-Fiction – the meaning imparted by the author that goes beyond
the literal; how the author feels about the subject
Fiction – same as above, though it might require a distinction
between author and narrator
Students should analyze diction, syntax, connation, and imagery to
determine the attitude being presented
Political Cartoon (Non-Fiction, Non-Text)
Speaker: Anti-isolationist political cartoonist by Dr. Seuss
Occasion:
• Larger occasion – the attacks on England by Nazi Germany
• Immediate occasion - the Hoolcaust
Audience: 1) other anti-isolationists (want to get involved)
2) isolationists (ignoring the situation)
Purpose: 1) support those who feel America should enter war
2)shame isolationists for their foolish views
Subject:
World War II/Indifference to situation
Tone: mocking, humorous, satirical
Speaker: President Abraham Lincoln – President during Civil War
Occasion: Dedication of Cemetery near site of Battle of Gettysburg (November 19,
1863)
Audience: 1)ostensibly, people attending ceremony
2)supporters of the Union
3)those wavering in support of Union
4)critics of the war
5)Confederates
Purpose: 1)frame the Civil War as a conflict regarding the essential ideals of the US
2)state the importance of winning the War
3)support believers in the justness of the Union cause and bolster those
wavering in support
4)address critics of the War
5)show Confederates the resolve of the Union
Subject: 1) Civil War
2) America in general
Tone: lofty, elevated, reverential, forceful, definitive, powerful
1. A score equals 20. To what year does Lincoln take us back?
Why?
2. To what is Lincoln referring when he says the United States
was born “dedicated to the proposition that all men are
created equal?”
3. According to Lincoln, what is the Civil War testing?
4. What advice does Lincoln give? What does he want them to
realize about the purpose of the Civil War?
5. According to Lincoln, what might happen if the North loses
the Civil War?
6. Imagine that Thomas Jefferson has returned to life. He has
just read a copy of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. How do
you think the author of the Declaration of Independence
might react to the speech?
Rhetorical Analysis
D—Diction
I----Images
D-----Details
L----Language
S----Sentence Structure
Diction/Tropes/Word Choice
What words does the author use?
“The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred
with their bones.”
“The question before the house is one of awful moment to this
country.”
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941: a day that will live in infamy.”
What type of word patterns (Tropes) do you notice?
What Images does the author create?
Visual, olfactory, auditory, tactile, gustatory, kinesthetic
How do these images imbue (permeate) the piece with sensory
images?
“I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my
[chest] from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I
so sworn as you have done to this.”
Which Details does the author include and omit?
Lady Macbeth mentions he had made a promise (which
he had not)….
Atticus points out Tom can only use his right hand,
while Mr. Ewell writes left handed
Lincoln mentions “four score and seven years ago”
What type of Language does the author use?
“All right, then, I’ll go to Hell.”
“Ask Not what your country can do for you, ask
what you can do for your country….”
“We are apt to listen to that siren till she turns us
into beasts…..”
“You are not wood, you are not stones, but
men…….”
Syntax/Sentence Structure/Schemes
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Simple, compound, complex, compound-complex
Use of phrases
Sentence variety
Vivid verbs, etc.
Active or passive voice
Patterns in Schemes