Download What is Rhetoric?

The power of effective communication
- Aristotle, ancient Greek philosopher
Writer
-understanding and
assessing the
relationship between
the writer, the audience,
and the text
Audience
Text
Kairos
These are the formal
terms that have been in
use since 500 BCE.
Logos
Pathos
Ethos
• Logos
• Entails rational argument: appeals to reason and an attempt to persuade the
audience through clear reasoning and philosophy
• Statistics, facts, definitions, and formal proofs
• Ethos
• An appeal to authority or character; does not strictly mean the use of ethics
or ethical reasoning
• Aristotle meant the character or goodwill of the speaker
• Today, we consider the text’s reliance on authority, credibility, or benevolence
• Pathos
• Generally refers to an appeal to emotions
• The text attempts to put the audience in a particular emotional state
• Use of jokes, inflammatory language, sad stories, etc.
• Kairos
• The attention to the “right time and place” for an argument
• The “umbrella” or over-all feeling
Other Necessary Rhetorical Terms
• Claim- A primary point being made to support an argument
(basically, the thesis statement)
• Warrant (aka bridge)- The explanation of why or how the data
supports the claim
• Fallacy- An incorrect argument leading to misinformation or
misunderstanding
Literature terms we all know…
• Tone
• Diction
• Figurative Language
• Repetition
• Hyperbole
• Understatement
Queen Elizabeth I’s Speech to the Troops at Tilbury, 1588
My loving people,
We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we
commit ourselves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you I do not
desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so
behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the
loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you
see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and
heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my
kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the
body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and
of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of
Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour
shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and
rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, for your forwardness
you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We do assure you in the word of a prince,
they shall be duly paid you. In the mean time, my lieutenant general shall be in my stead,
than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by
your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field,
we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and
of my people.
• Queen Elizabeth I is sending her
men to fight the Spanish Armada.
What do you know about the
audience based on the information
in the speech? How does she take
the audience into account?
• How does Queen Elizabeth I use
the audience’s faith and belief in
God as a way to convince them to
believe and agree with her? Why
is it a good idea for her to remind
them of her divine right as a ruler
before sending them into battle?
• Identify the tone(s) of the passage.
How does she set the tone(s)?
Portrait of Elizabeth made to
commemorate the defeat of the Spanish
Armada (1588), depicted in the
background. Elizabeth's international
power is symbolized by the hand resting
on the globe.
• At one point she says that she is going to fight beside them, and
then she says she will not. Explain what she means and what she
is doing here. How is she manipulating her audience?
• Identify an appeal to pathos. How is it effective?
• One appeal to logos she makes is when she reminds them that
she will be paying them money to fight. To which audience is she
specifically speaking when she mentions this?
• One effective rhetorical device in this speech is her
manipulation of diction. Provide one example of effective word
choice and discuss its contribution to the quality of the
argument.
Speeches after Julius Caesar’s assassination
• What was the speaker up against?
• What was the occasion for the speech?
• What did the author have to keep in mind while
speaking?
• What were his goals in his speech?
• What was his ultimate purpose in making the speech?