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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

(#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?

(#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?

(#3) Rhetorical Devices

·  DICTION (words)

Denotation (dictionary definition; the literal definition)

Connotation (Does the word have a positive or negative meaning in society?)

ü  euphony (words that have a positive, harmonious, melodious sound EX: “bliss”)

ü  cacaphony (words that have a negative, inharmonious, harsh sound EX: “raunchy”)

·  SYNTAX (sentence structure—the arrangement of words in a sentence)

ü  JUXTAPOSITION (two things are set up to be compared/contrasted)

ü  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”)

ü  antithesis (two ideas are directly opposed in a parallel way EX “I long and dread to close”)

ü  parallelism (the repetition of words, phrases, or sentences that have similar grammatical

structures or restate a similar idea

ü  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.”] )

ü  asyntedon (no conjunctions used)

ü  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

·  Figurative Language

  1. metaphor (a.k.a. conceit; extended metaphor; analogy)

ü  synecdoche (a part of the thing represents the whole thing)

ü  metonymy (something closely related represents the thing)

  1. simile
  2. personification

ü  apostrophe (

  1. symbol

ü  allegory (a.k.a. fable; parable)

ü  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)

ü  hyperbole

ü  understatement (liotes)

ü  paradox

ü  oxymoron

·  allusion

·  rhetorical question

·  SOUND (used mostly with poetry)

ü  onomatopoeia

ü  alliteration

ü  assonance

ü  consonance

ü  meter

ü  Rhyme Pattern

1.  End rhyme

2.  Internal rhyme

3.  Exact rhyme

4.  Slant rhyme

ü  rhyme scheme (aabb or abab)

ü  enjambment (sentence continues from one line of poetry to next)

ü  caesura (pause within a line of poetry dictated by natural pause in speech not meter)

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.

ü  Free Verse—no set rhyme and no set meter

ü  Blank Verse—no set rhyme but has set meter

·  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) / NARRATIVE Poem (objective = author tells a story about someone else)
·  Elegy
·  Ode
·  Villanelle
·  Sestina
·  Sonnet
·  Carpe Diem
·  Pastoral/ Idyll / ·  Ballad
·  Epic