Download Rhetoric

Analyzing a Text Rhetorically
Definition of a “Text”
A set of symbols that communicates or
means something. A text can be read and
interpreted.
 From the Latin root, texere, meaning “to
weave”
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The Red Wheelbarrow
by William Carlos Williams
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
Significant Texts in our Lives – Can be
Analyzed
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Religious texts
Political texts
Legal texts
News articles
Advertisements
Songs
Poetry
Photography
Personal experiences
Dreams
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Student papers
Academic articles
Memories
Speeches
Films
Books
Video games
Performances
Bodies
Clothes
Textual Analysis
What does the term “analysis” mean to you?
Analysis
Breaking something down into its essential parts
to understand how and why those parts work
together to accomplish something (what + how
and why)
 Versus “summary” (what)
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Importance of structure
 Looking at the relationship between the parts –
can only understand one part or term in relation
to another (binaries, not opposites)
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Step 1: Breaking down into essential parts
Step 2: Determining how parts work together
Step 3: Determining what is accomplished when parts work
together
Analysis Involves Interpretation
Analyze: To break something down into
its essential parts to determine how those
parts work together to accomplish
something.
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We can all see the same parts of the same text working
together in the same way, yet we each see it accomplishing
something different.
Or perhaps we all see a text accomplishing the same thing,
but see it doing so in different ways.
There are no “wrong” or “right”
interpretations of a text.
It’s a duck!
It’s a bunny!
But there are supported and unsupported
interpretations of a text (importance of
quotes).
It’s a tractor!
Rhetoric
What does the term “rhetoric” mean to you?
Defining “Rhetoric”

The language – both written and visual –
that speakers and writers use to
communicate or persuade
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The study of that language, human
interaction, and communication
Analyzing a Text Rhetorically
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Breaking down a text into its essential
parts to understand how those parts work
together to accomplish something
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Rhetorical analysis involves looking at the
context, or the rhetorical situation, in
which the communication takes place.
Parts of a Rhetorical Situation
Reading Rhetorically
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Reading like a writer – reading the text as a
series of choices
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Understanding how the author(s) constructed
the text and why the author(s) made certain
choices about the text
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Analyzing both the context and the content
Questions for Rhetorical Analysis
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Who is the author/speaker?
What is the purpose of writing? What is the
occasion that gives rise to the writing?
Who is the intended audience?
What is the main argument?
What does the nature of the communication
reveal about the culture(s) that produced it?
What constructs are involved in this text?
How are certain ideas or concepts being
constructed within the text?
Different “Schools of Thought”
or Theories
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Formalists (symbols)
Gender theorists (gender, sexuality)
Marxist theorists (social class)
Race-based theorists (race)
Post-colonial theorists (nationality, empire)
Psychoanalytical theorists (unconscious)
Disability theorists (disability)
Happiness theorists (happiness)
Rhetoricians (rhetorical situations, language)
Different “Schools of Thought”
or Theories
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Using and explaining quotations
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Ex. “We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”
(Declaration).