Common Rhetoric Examples
Below are a few examples on how rhetoric is employed by using various literary devices:
· How did this idiot get elected? – A rhetorical question to convince others that the “idiot” does not deserve to be elected.
· Here comes the Helen of our school. – An allusion to “Helen of Troy,” to emphasize the beauty of a girl.
· I would die if you asked me to sing in front of my parents. – A hyperbole to persuade others not to use force to make you do something you don’t want to do.
· All blonds are dumb. – Using a stereotype to develop a general opinion about a group.
Nevertheless, the difference between rhetorical devices and figures of speech is so minute that both share many features. A figure of speech becomes a device in rhetoric when it is aimed at persuading the readers or listeners.
Examples of Rhetoric
Example 1
The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us.
Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is widely praised as one of history’s greatest speeches. Though the speech took less than two minutes to deliver, the country was deeply moved by it. In those two minutes, Lincoln summarized all the pain and suffering that had been brought by the Civil War and looked forward to the good that might someday come from a Union victory. Although Lincoln wasn’t trying to persuade his audience of anything in particular, he was presenting an overall view or understanding of the war, which he wanted his listeners to accept as their own.
Example 2
Advertisements are a very subtle form of rhetoric. Every advertisement you see is an attempt to persuade you that you should take a certain action – usually buying a product or supporting a political candidate. Knowing this, you can analyze the various techniques that advertisements use. Are they stimulating your appetites, such as your desire for food or companionship? Are they using the emotions? Are they presenting logical arguments?
Examples of Rhetoric in Literature and Scholarship
Example 1
Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow was only published a few years ago (2010), but already it’s become highly influential in the world of politics. In the book, Alexander uses a combination of logical arguments, historical context, and emotional human stories to show the harm caused by the modern criminal justice system. Her book has proved highly persuasive to outside activists and mainstream politicians alike, which demonstrates the power of her rhetoric.
Example 2
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar. (William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar)
Shakespeare’s plays, especially his histories, are full of high rhetoric. The most famous example is probably Marc Antony’s funeral oration from Julius Caesar. In the speech, Marc Antony faces a hostile crowd, most of whom are celebrating Caesar’s death. But, through careful rhetoric, Marc Antony convinces them that they should not be too quick to celebrate, and that Caesar may not have been such a bad man after all. The speech is a brilliant synthesis of pathos and logos, since it appeals both to the audience’s logical minds and to their emotional hearts.
Rhetorical Question
Example: Shelley's Ode to the West Wind
O, Wind
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
Allusion- Thomash Nashe’s “Litany in Time of Plague” – poem
eg.
"Brightness falls from the air
Queens have died young and fair
Dust hath closed Helen's eye"
Related Terms
Logos/Ethos/Pathos
The philosopher Aristotle separated rhetoric into three distinct methods:
Logos, or logic, which comes from the head
Pathos, or emotion, which comes from the heart
Ethos, or morality, which comes from a combination of head and heart
Aristotle argued that good rhetoric involved all three of these methods. If you could blend the three seamlessly and bring them together in a single, unified argument, then you were a good rhetorician in Aristotle’s book.
Ethos, Pathos, and Logos are modes of persuasion used to convince audiences. They are also referred to as the three artistic proofs (Aristotle coined the terms), and are all represented by Greek words.
Ethos or the ethical appeal, means to convince an audience of the author’s credibility or character.
An author would use ethos to show to his audience that he is a credible source and is worth listening to. Ethos is the Greek word for “character.” The word “ethic” is derived from ethos.
Ethos can be developed by choosing language that is appropriate for the audience and topic (this also means choosing the proper level of vocabulary), making yourself sound fair or unbiased, introducing your expertise, accomplishments or pedigree, and by using correct grammar and syntax.
During public speaking events, typically a speaker will have at least some of his pedigree and accomplishments listed upon introduction by a master of ceremony.
Pathos or the emotional appeal, means to persuade an audience by appealing to their emotions.
Authors use pathos to invoke sympathy from an audience; to make the audience feel what what the author wants them to feel. A common use of pathos would be to draw pity from an audience. Another use of pathos would be to inspire anger from an audience, perhaps in order to prompt action. Pathos is the Greek word for both “suffering” and “experience.” The words empathy and pathetic are derived from pathos.
Pathos can be developed by using meaningful language, emotional tone, emotion evoking examples, stories of emotional events, and implied meanings.
Logos or the appeal to logic, means to convince an audience by use of logic or reason.
To use logos would be to cite facts and statistics, historical and literal analogies, and citing certain authorities on a subject. Logos is the Greek word for “word,” however the true definition goes beyond that, and can be most closely described as “the word or that by which the inward thought is expressed" and, "the inward thought itself" (1). The word “logic” is derived from logos.
Logos can be developed by using advanced, theoretical or abstract language, citing facts (very important), using historical and literal analogies, and by constructing logical arguments.
In order to persuade your audience, proper use of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos is necessary.
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