Rhetoric Unit The Art of Persuasion Rhetorical Appeals

Rhetoric Unit The Art of Persuasion

Rhetorical Appeals �Logos-offering a clear, reasonable central idea (or set of ideas) and developing it with appropriate reasoning, examples, or details. �Ethos-offering evidence that the speaker is credible and knows important and valuable information about the topic at hand is a good, believable person who has the audience’s best interests in mind. �Pathos-drawing on the emotions and interests of the audience so that they will be inclined to sympathize with, accept, and buy in to the speaker’s central ideas and arguments.

Figures of Speech Tropes and Schemes

Tropes �MEANING of the word is altered from the usual or expected �Examples of Tropes: Allusion Synecdoche Diction Metonymy Imagery Metaphor Personification

Allusion, Metonymy, Synecdoche

Allusion �What is an allusion? �If you said a “reference made”, you are correct! �How does it differ from “illusion”?

Allusion Workshop �Type of allusion: (literary, biblical, historical) �Purpose of the ad: what does the creator want the viewer to do? �The intended audience: what kind of people does the ad appeal to? �What feeling or idea is associated with the allusion? �Purpose of the ad + the audience: What do the allusions and its associations make the intended audience want to do?

” Synecdoche “sin-neck-duh-kee” �Brother to metynomy �Related to classification and division (part to a whole; whole to a part) �Understanding one thing for another “bread” for food “hands” for helpers “wheels” for car Shelly uses synecdoche in his poem “Ozymandias”: �“Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them. ”

Metonymy �Designation of one thing with something closely associated with it Head of the committee-CHAIR King-CROWN Newspaper-PRESS Man of the cloth-CLERGY �Example from Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone with the Wind “I’m mighty glad Georgia waited till after Christmas before it secedes or it would have ruined the Christmas parties. ”

Schemes �WORD ORDER is altered from the usual or expected �Examples of Schemes: Balance-Parallelism Repetition-Anaphora Sound-alliteration, consonance, assonance

Balance-Anaphora

Anaphora �Repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses � used to appeal to the emotions to persuade , to inspire, to motivate Examples: “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields and in the streets…” “The Lord sitteth above the water floods. The Lord remaineth a King forever. ”

Sound Alliteration, Consonance, Assonance

Alliteration �It is a stylistic device in which a number of words occur close together in a series, having the same first consonant sound. �Renders beauty and flow, makes the writing more interesting and pleasing to “hear” �From Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, “The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, The furrow followed free; We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea. ”

Assonance �Assonance takes place when two or more words close to one another repeat the same vowel sound but start with different consonant sounds- helps to develop mood and tone. �“If I bleat when I speak it’s because I just got. . . fleeced. ” – Deadwood by Al Swearengen �“Strips of tinfoil winking like people” - The Bee Meeting by Sylvia Plath �“I must confess that in my quest I felt depressed and restless. ” – With Love by Thin Lizzy

Consonance �Repetitive sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase. � In contrast to alliteration, consonance involves repetition of consonant sounds at beginning, middle, or end of sentences or phrases. Example �“Rap rejects my tape deck, ejects projectile Whether Jew or gentile, I rank top percentile Many styles, more powerful than gamma rays My grammar pays, like Carlos Santana plays. ” (The lines have been taken from the song “Zealots” by Fugees. )

Analysis of Style and Rhetoric Annotate your copy of “I Have a Dream” for: the appeals-Logos, Ethos, Pathos tropes- Allusion Metaphor Diction Metonymy Imagery Synecdoche Personification schemes – Parallelism, Anaphora, Alliteration, Consonance, Assonance Color code your annotations and create a “key”

Examples and explanation Write a quote for each appeal (3), trope (7), and scheme (5) annotated in your copy of MLK’s “I Have a Dream” Give reasoning as to why quote is a good example of the appeal, trope, and scheme. Example: “ a vast ocean of material prosperity” This is a good example of consonance because there is the repetition of the “s” sound and “t” sound.

Answer each question in RACE format (after annotating) 1. What is King’s purpose of the speech? Choose 1 appeal, 1 trope, OR 1 scheme to explain how King effectively the device in delivering his purpose. Do not make the mistake of discussing what the message is, but discuss how the author delivers the message.