Transcript
Emotional Argumentation
Three strategies
Appeals to Emotion
Rhetorical Figures
Framing
Rhetorical Figures
1. Epizeuxis 2. Anaphora 3. Epistrophe 4. Symploce 5. Anadiplosis 6. Chiasmus
7. Antithesis 8. Tricolon9. Litotes10.Polysyndeton/Asyndeton11. Paraprosdokian12.Zeugma
Epizeuxis
Three words in a row:
Words, words, words!--Hamlet
Anaphora
Repeating the first wordWith malice toward none;with charity for all;with firmness in the right,...— Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address
Epistrophe
Repeating the last word"Don't you ever talk about my friends! You don't know any of my friends. You don't look at any of my friends. And you certainly wouldn't condescend to speak to any of my friends."(Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club)
Symploce
Repeating the first and last words
"Much of what I say might sound bitter, but it's the truth. Much of what I say might sound like it's stirring up trouble, but it's the truth. Much of what I say might sound like it is hate, but it's the truth."-- Malcolm X
Anadiplosis
Repeating the last part and the first part
"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you."
(Yoda in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menance)
Chiasmus
The X-figure
"I had a teacher I liked who used to say good fiction's job was to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable."
(David Foster Wallace)
Antithesis
Balanced opposites"I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dryrot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time." (Jack London)
Tricolon
Three items in a series
"You are talking to a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe."(The Wizard in The Wizard of Oz, 1939)
Tricolon
Three items in a series
"I require three things in a man. He must be handsome, ruthless, and stupid."(Dorothy Parker)
Litotes
Understatement that negates the positive
"Are you also aware, Mrs. Bueller, that Ferris does not have what we consider to be an exemplary attendance record?"
(Jeffrey Jones as Principal Ed Rooney, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986)
Polysyndeton/Asyndeton
More Conjunctions/No Conjunctions
And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. Genesis
Polysyndeton/Asyndeton
More Conjunctions/No Conjunctions
"He was a bag of bones, a floppy doll, a broken stick, a maniac."(Jack Kerouac, On the Road, 1957)
Paraprosdokian
Surprising Ending
Zeugma
The Yoking Figure--literal and figurative
Your phone is off the hook, but you're notX,
Zeugma
The Yoking Figure--literal and figurative
My teeth and ambitions are bared; be prepared! - Scar, from The Lion King
Do logical appeals ever work?
An idea is a feat of association, and the
height of it is a good metaphor.
Robert Frost
Metaphor
Framing
Humor
George Lakoff
The Conceptual Metaphor
Argument is a WAR
She shot down my arguments.
He won the argument
Her criticisms were right on
target.
The Conceptual Metaphor
Social organizations are
plantsThe math club withered after
Mindy left.
We need to let our school
grow.
Soccer associations
sprouted up all over Boston.
The Conceptual Metaphor
Life is a Journey
The Conceptual Metaphor
Democrats = MomRepublicans = Dad
George LakoffFrank LuntzWord
Associations
Government vs. Washington
Tax Cuts vs. Tax Relief
Inheritance Tax vs. Death Tax
Undocumented Workers vs. Illegal Aliens
Drilling for oil vs. Exploring for Energy
Imagine Hastle-freeLifestyleResultsCan-Do spiritInnovation Renew EfficiencyThe Right to...
Words that work
Appeals to Emotion
fearIf you don’t graduate from high school, you
will end up a ditchdigger.
Appeals to pity
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, look at this miserable man, in a wheelchair, unable to
use his legs. Could such a man really be guilty of embezzlement?"
Appeal to ridicule
Oh sure! Of course, evolution makes sense! It’s perfectly obvious that people are related
to gorillas!
Appeal to consequences
"Free will must exist: if it didn't, we would all be machines."
Appeal to flattery
Honors students such as yourselves are too smart to be fooled by companies like Jostens
that try to sell you ovepriced junk.
Appeal to spite
"Stop recycling! Aren't you tired of Hollywood celebrities preaching to everyone about saving the Earth?"
Appeal to popular sentiment
top related