Transcript File - Literature of the 1980s

RHETORIC 101
The rhetoric of today
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKyIw9fs8T4
“Totally Like Whatever”
by Taylor Mali
AWKWARD EYE CONTACT
PARTNER BREAK
• #1) Review what you have learned
about the 1980s in the last lecture.
• #2) Based on the clip we just watched,
what do you think “rhetoric” is?
Rhetoric =
The manipulation of
language for an
intended effect
 Political Speeches
 Love letters
 Text messages
 Memoirs
 Literature
 Poetry
 Song lyrics
 Lectures
 Pamphlets
 Comic Books
 Protest signs
 Bumper Stickers
ALL DEVICES ARE
RHETORICAL!
RHETORICAL
DEVICES
Literary Devices
RHETORIC!
Poetic Devices
RHETORIC!
Autobiographical
Devices
RHETORIC!
HOLY COW; It’s THE HOW!
ALL WRITING CAN BE BROKEN
DOWN INTO JUST
TWO SIMPLE ELEMENTS:
1) “THE HOW”
&
2) “THE WHAT”
RHETORIC=THE HOW!!!
Rhetorical question
“How many times are you going to make the
same mistake before you get it through
your thick skull?!?”
ACTIVE vs. PASSIVE VOICE
“Mistakes were made…”
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Figurative language= Non-literal language
(e.g.: metaphor, simile, personification,
anthropomorphism, etc.)
•Anthropomorphism: Giving a non-human entity a physical,
tangible human form.
•2 Pac’s gun is anthropomorphized into a girlfriend: “I‘m waitin’by
the phone. This is true love; I could feel it/A lot of women in my
bed but you the realest”
–2 Pac “96 Bonnie and Clyde”
REPETITON/ANAPHORA
• Anaphora: Repeating a phrase at the beginning of each line.
• Every little step I take, you will be there
Every little step I make, we'll be together
Every little step I take, you will be there
Every little step I make, we'll be together
–Bobby Brown “Every Little Step”
ANTIMETABOLE/CHIASMUS
• Antimetabole: Repetition of words in successive
clauses but transposed in grammatical order
• “The rhythm is the bass and the bass is the treble” –Warren G
• Chiasmus: Transposed grammar only
• “He knowingly led and we followed blindly“ (adverb/verb; verb/adverb)
HYPERBOLE &
UNDERSTATMENT
ETHOS, PATHOS, LOGOS
Ethical, emotional, and logical arguments.
eTHOS
pathOS
LOGOS
JUXTAPOSITION
Definition: the placement of two things side by side
side.
ANTITHETICAL
JUXTAPOSITION
• Antithesis: the exact opposite
• Antithetical Juxtaposition: polar opposites,
side by side
IRONIC JUXTAPOSITION
ANALOGY
SYNTAX
Which one sounds best? Why?
Times like these sure try men’s souls.
How trying it is (for men’s souls) in
these times.
These are trying times for the souls
of men.
Soul-wise, these are trying times.
These are the times that try men’s
souls.
SYNTAX &
PUNCTUATION
Consider the effect of the construction/punctuation:
“On a foggy morning another of the Russians is buried;
almost every day one of them dies” –All Quiet on the Western Front
SYNTAX/PUNCTUATION
ANALYSIS TIPS
• Consider the cadence: the rhythm or balance.
• Does it sound lyrical, flowery, ornate?
• Does it sound terse, choppy, or monotone?
• Look for patterns
• Consider sentence length and type
• Consider punctuation choice and placement
• Consider how all of these effects work in
concert!
Terminal Emphasis
“The crowd stopped and stared.”
DICTION
sleeping late i hear the sad
horns
of labor truck sigh
my neighbor walks by
high heels click dry
—Why?
Words like “sad,” “labor,”
“sigh” and “dry” paint a
pessimistic picture of a busy,
hollow, unnatural world filled
with “horns” and “high heels.”
DON’T JUST IDENTIFY THE
RHETORIC; ANALYZE IT!
HOW DOES THE RHETORIC INTEND TO MAKE THE
AUDIENCE FEEL, AND HOW DO WE FEEL ABOUT IT?
TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT PERSUADE US?