Introduction to Rhetoric and Rhetorical Devices By Professor
Introduction to Rhetoric and Rhetorical Devices By Professor Robert S. De. France
Eastern Rhetoric Confucius In ancient China (about 500 B. C. E. ) rhetoric was defined as, “the art of persuasion, the artistic use of oral and written expressions, for the purpose of changing thought and action at social, political and individual levels” (Lu, X. 2).
Classical Western Rhetoric In ancient Greece, Aristotle (384 -322 B. C. E. ) defined RHETORIC as, “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion. ”
Aristotle’s Five Parts of Rhetoric 1. Invention 2. Arrangement Organization Aristotle’s Four Parts of an Argument 3. Style The use of correct, appropriate, and striking language throughout the speech; use of verbal figures 4. Memory The search for persuasive ways to present information and formulate arguments The use of mnemonics and practice of speech 5. Delivery The use of effective gestures and vocal modulation to present the speech
Classical Western Rhetoric Later in ancient Greece, Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 -43 B. C. E. ) defined rhetoric as the use of, “language agreeable to the ear, and arguments suited to convince”
Three Types of Speech or Discourse 1. Legal (or Forensic) Speech For example, Plato’s “The Apology of Socrates” and Justice Jackson’s “Opening Statement for the Prosecution, The Nuremberg Trials” 2. Political (or Deliberative) Speech For example, Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, ” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ’s “I Have a Dream, ” and Cesar Chavez’s “Speech on Ending his 25 Day Fast” 3. Ceremonial (or Epideictic) Speech For example, Pericles’ “Funeral Oration, ” Edward Kennedy’s “Eulogy for Robert Francis Kennedy, ” and Steve Jobs’ “Commencement Address to Stanford University”
Types of Ceremonial Addresses 1. Funeral (Eulogy) 2. Commencement/Graduation 3. Keynote Address 4. Award Speeches 5. Retirement Speeches 6. Tribute Speeches 7. Welcome and Introduction Speeches Russell Crowe delivering his eulogy for Steve Irwin
Conventions of Commencement Addresses Michael Ignatieff states, “The staple fare of any commencement address: moral advice” (Take This Advice 178) Steve Jobs’ Commencement Address Peter J. Smith explains, they are, “part entertainment…They instruct. They warn. They reflect. They advise…They persuade…They impose an agenda…And they inspire” (16 -17)
Persuasive Appeals: Aristotle’s Three Argumentative Appeals 1. Ethos (Greek for “character”) An appeal to the character of the speaker or a moral or ethical appeal 2. Pathos (Greek for “suffering” or “experience”) An appeal to emotions, like anger, hate, love, patriotism, hope, and revenge 3. Logos (Greek for “embodied thought”) An appeal to reason, facts, statistics, and logic
Textual Example of Ethos There are many forms of ETHOS. In one the speaker establishes their own character: “I would agree with St. Augustine that ‘an unjust law is no law at all’” (from King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”). In this example, Dr. King uses a complex appeal that (1) shows he is educated [ETHOS], (2) expresses his moral belief [ETHOS], and (3) provides support from a credible source [LOGOS]
Textual Example of Ethos In another example of ETHOS, Dr. King appeals to the character of his audience in “Letter from Birmingham Jail”: “But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms” (King).
Textual Example of Pathos James Baldwin and Maya Angelou “The free bird thinks of another breeze/and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees/and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn/and he names the sky his own/But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams/his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream/his wings are clipped and his feet are tied/so he opens his throat to sing, ” Maya Angelou’s “Caged Bird”
Textual Example of Logos New York Times writers Jay Hancock, Elizabeth Lucas, and Sydney Lupkin opened their 2017 “A Drug Maker Spends Big in Washington to Make Itself Heard” with logos. “Two federal investigators— one examining opioid sales, another about a multiple sclerosis drug whose price had soared to $34, 000 a vial —were only part of the troubles Mallinckrodt faced as the year began. ”
How to Persuade: Rhetorical Devices Masters of Oratory and Rhetoric: DEMOSTHENES, SHAKESPEARE, and KING
Metaphors in Music Metallica’s James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett The Doors’ “Light My Fire” (1967) Pat Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield” (1983) Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” (1984) Portishead’s “Wandering Star” (1994) Jay-Z’s “Dirt off Your Shoulder” (2003) Maroon 5’s “Animals” (2014)
Excerpt from Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” (1609) “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, and summer’s lease hath all too short a date: sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines, and often is his gold complexion dimm’d; and every fair from fair sometime declines”
Master of Metaphors: William Shakespeare “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances. ” In this famous monologue from Act II, Scene VII of “As you Like It” (1599), Shakespeare compares the world to a stage and life to a performance of the different stages of life.
Metaphors in Literature Kate Chopin In Kate Chopin’s famous Feminist novel The Awakening (1899), Mademoiselle Reisz says, “’The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth” (Chopin 111).
Master of Metaphors: Jimi Hendrix “The Wind Cries Mary” (1967) “Castles Made of Sand” (1967) “Burning the Midnight Lamp” (1968) “Crosstown Traffic” (1968) “In from the Storm” (1971)
Master of Metaphors: Lady Gaga “Fountain of Truth” (2006) “Highway Unicorn” (2011) “Diamond Heart” (2016)
Masters of Metaphors: The Beatles “Baby, you can drive my car and maybe I’ll love you, ” from “Drive My Car” (1965) “While my guitar gently weeps, ” from “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (1968)
The Metaphors of Carlos Santana “Let your head be free/Turn the wisdom key, ” from “Everybody’s Everything” (1971) “Turning my heart into stone/I need you so bad, magic woman, ” from “Black Magic Woman” (1974)
The Metaphors of Selena Gomez “You got me sippin’ on something/I can’t compare to nothing/I’ve ever known, ” from Selena Gomez’s “The Heart Wants What It Wants” (2014)
Extended Metaphor Definition: An extended metaphor is a comparison between two unlike items that “continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem” (“Extended
Extended Metaphors in Music Johnny Cash Take a listen to Johnny Cash’s classic “Ring of Fire” (1963), which begins, “Love is a burning thing/And it makes a fiery ring/Bound by wild desire/I fell in to a ring of fire”
Extended Metaphors in Music “I’ll take you to the candy shop/I’ll let you lick the lollypop/Go ‘head girl don’t you stop/Keep going ‘til you hit the spot, ” from “Candy Shop” (2005) 50 Cent
Extended Metaphors in Music Mann and 50 Cent “They come around like honey/cause I’m fly like a bee/I got ‘em all buzzin, ” from “Buzzin’” by Mann (Remix) featuring 50 Cent (2010)
Allusions Definition: Allusions are indirect references, “to a person, event, statement, or theme found in literature…history, mythology, religion, or popular culture (“Allusion”) Purpose: “the use of allusions enables writers or poets to simplify complex ideas and emotions” (“Allusions”). Also, Because of the connotations they carry, allusions are used to enrich meaning or broaden the impact of the statement” (“Allusion”)
Allusions in Music Chuck Berry’s “Roll over Beethoven” (1956) Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” (1967) Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary” (1969) Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (1973) U 2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (1983) Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” (1984) The “white rabbit” is a reference to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland (1865)
Allusions Types of Allusions HISTORICAL RELIGIOUS OR BIBLICAL LITERARY CULTURAL OR CONTEMPORARY MYTHOLOGICAL POLITICAL
Masters of Allusions: Steinbeck “The Grapes of Wrath” movie (1940) “So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God” (The title The Grapes of Wrath is a biblical allusion to the Book of Revelations 14: 19 -20)
Masters of Allusions: Steinbeck Author John Steinbeck “Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there” (Steinbeck 472) is a biblical allusion to Matthew 26: 52: “then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword”
Allusions in Television South Park’s “Scott Tenorman Must Die” (2001) is an allusion to William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus (1594)
Allusions in Poetry “The tables of the Torah, /The scrolls of the Quran. /My creed is Love, ” from Sufi mystic, poet, and philosopher Ibn Arabi’s poem “Wonder”
Masters of Allusions: President Obama ‘“I Have a Dream. ” [Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream”] Just words. “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. ” [Jefferson’s “Declaration of Independence] Just words. “We have nothing to fear but fear itself. ” [FDR’s First “Inaugural Address”] Just words. Just speeches” (Obama).
Allusions in Hip-Hop: Tupac Shakur “Walk the city streets like a rat pack of tyrants, ” from Tupac’s “Trapped”
Allusions in Hip-Hop: Wu. Tang Clan “I be Sam I am/And I don’t eat green eggs and ham, ” from Method Man’s “Method Man” (1994) “For any MC in any fifty two states/I get psycho, killer, Norman Bates, ” from Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Ya” • “Who want to battle the Don? /I’m James Bond in the Octagon with two razors, ” (1995) From Ghostface Killah’s “The Champ” (2006)
Anaphora Definition: Anaphora is a rhetorical device where one and the same word forms the beginnings of successive phrases, clauses, or lines Purpose: Anaphora is used to give prominence to ideas, add a sense of rhythm. It is also used to inspire, persuade, motivate, and
Anaphora: Douglass For example in Learning to Read and Write, ” Frederick Douglass states, “The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers” (Douglass 147)
Anaphora: Douglass “It was heard in every sound, and seen in every thing. It was ever present to torment me with a sense of my wretched condition” (Douglass)
Anaphora: Notorious B. I. G. “Never lose, never choose to, bruise crews, ” from the Notorious B. I. G. ’s Grammywinning “Hypnotize” (1997)
Anaphora: Enrique Iglesias “I know you want me/I made it obvious that I want you too, ” from Enrique Iglesias’ “Tonight I’m Loving You” (2010), which broke into the top 10 on the charts
Antistrophe (or Epistrophe) Definition: Antistrophe is the repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses or phrases Purpose: Antistrophe creates a rhythm and pattern that is appealing to audiences and the device helps emphasize a particular thought or idea
Antistrophe: King For example from Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail, ” “I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws” (King 225)
Antistrophe: Douglass “I saw nothing without seeing it, I heard nothing without hearing it, and felt nothing without feeling it” (Douglass). See the antistrophe, or the repetition of the same ending for successive clauses or phrases
Antistrophe: PSY “Kopi hanjanui yeoyreul anuen pumgyeok innuen yeoja/Bami om ya shimjangi dbeugeowojineun yeoja/Geureon banjeon innuen yeoja, ” from PSY’s “Gangnam Style, ” winner of a 2013 Billboard Music Award Yeoja means “lady” or “girl” in Korean
Antistrophe: Queen Latifah “A woman can bear you break you take you, ” from Grammy Award winning performer Queen Latifah’s “Ladies First” (1989)
Antistrophe: Jay Z “You know I thug ‘em, f**k ‘em, love ‘em, leave ‘em/Cause I don’t f****n’ need ‘em, ” from Jay Z’s “Big Pimpin” (1999)
Anadiplosis Definition: Anadiplosis is the repetition of one or several words, specifically when a word ends one clause and starts the next Purpose: The quick repetition of anadiplosis adds emphasis on the word or main idea
Anadiplosis: Lenin “Nevertheless, we gained a victory, and a victory that is not only for our country, but for all countries, for all mankind”—V. I. Lenin’s “First All. Russia Congress of Working Cossacks” (1920)
Anadiplosis: Lincoln “This affirmation and denial form an issue; and this issue-this question-is precisely what the text declares our fathers understood ‘better than we. ’”— Abraham Lincoln’s “Cooper Union Address” (1860)
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