1

THE RHETORICAL

ANALYSISConsidering and Answering

Three

Essential Questions

2

WHAT?

A carefully crafted text is designed to attract the reader’s attention.

3

PINPOINTING OUR REACTION

Experiencing a distinct reaction to a textindicates,with a fair amount of certainty,the author has used rhetoric to manipulate the reader.

4

READING BETWEEN THE LINES

The effect of rhetorical constructions can be sudden or subtle, either immediately apparent (we laugh), or understated (we puzzle over our feeling).

5

A DEVELOPING SKILL

Noticing and pinpointing our reaction to a text takes practice and diligence.

Nonetheless, these two actions together remain the essential first step in any rhetorical analysis.

6

HOW?

Without question, any reaction to a text is the result of some type of rhetorical device.

It remains our task to find

those rhetorical devices and to explain their function.

7

KNOWING THE NAMES

A basic familiarity with perhaps seventeen or so specific

rhetorical terms greatly enhances our ability to spot and analyze

the source of any reaction.

8

FREQUENTLY USED--Anaphora and Epistrophe

--Chiasmus and Synchises--Asyndeton and Polysyndeton

--Cacophony and Euphony--Zeugma --Parallelism--Litote and Hyperbole --Synecdoche and Metonymy--Oxymoron --Tautology--Pun

9

EASILY OVERLOOKED

The obvious features of an essay should not be sidestepped. Even though lacking sparkle and zing, an author frequently uses the basic structures of writing to convey her or his intentions.Some of these overlooked structures are• Sentence styling (including

length)• Diction• Tone

10

WHY?

Determining the author’s purpose remains.

Can we winnow beneath the surface of the rhetoric and discover the reason behind the verbal play?

11

THE ZEN APPROACH

The third question asks for more than a simple answer.

The interrogative pronoun “why” requires that we understand.

Understanding is derived through thoughtfulness.