Emotional argumentation2

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