Rhetorical devices are essential ‘condiments’ of every interesting discourse, since no discourse can be effective without them. Hence, Harris (2008) asserts that in every text, they are next in importance to appropriate and clear thesis, sufficient supporting arguments as well as logical and progressive arrangement of ideas. The beauty and effect inherent in rhetorical devices reside in their being potential persuasive tools, especially in argumentative discourses, court room discourse, for instance. Consequently, Onyemelukwe and Alo (2011) identify them as indispensable ‘ingredients’ of court room linguistic persuasive strategies.
The foregoing indicates that rhetorical devices are discourse strategies that go with beauty of expression. This beauty of expression is a function of the colour they add to the utterances of discourse participants. That is, rhetorical devices, whether linguistic or traditional, elevate interlocutors’ expressions by deepening their meanings to make them generally connotative.
A careful consideration of the foregoing definitions of proverb evinces, immediately, that it is a linguistic resource with immense discourse value. As such, it perfectly fits into the conceptualisation of rhetorical device, especially with reference to definitions (b, c, d, i and j). As a rhetorical device, proverb belongs to the traditional category, not the linguistic type. See Onyemelukwe, Alo and Ibeana (2011) as well as Onyemelukwe and Fatuase (2012) for clear distinctions between traditional and linguistic rhetorical devices. Like other traditional rhetorical devices such as figures of speech, axioms and idioms, proverbs can be conventional or creative. They are conventional if they are commonly in use, but creative if the...
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... Proceedings, pp. 80-87. October, 2013.
Onyemelukwe, Ndubuisi H. and Oriaku, Remmy O. (2011). Achebe’s Things Fall Apart as a
Compendium of Africanness: an International Conference Paper, University of
Lagos. P. 8, Book of Abstracts.
Onyemelukwe, N. H., Oriaku, R.O. and Ibeana, W.E. (2011): Traditional Rhetorical Devices as
Discourse Strategies in Achebe’s Anthills: An Award-winning International
Conference Paper Presented at University of Lagos 7th Annual Research Conference and Fair, October, 2011. Book of Abstracts, p.5.
Padoye, Elizabeth O. (2013). Proverbs as Conveyors of Meaning in Chinua Achebe’s Things
Fall Apart, a B.A. Seminar Paper: National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos.
Templar, Richard (2008). The Rules of Parenting. England: Pearson Education Limited.
Rhetorical evidence is everywhere. It can be found in any shape or form in everyday life. Writers, producer, speakers, and even teachers use the rhetorical techniques some of our founding philosophers, Aristotle and Plato, once used to persuade an audience. These speaker, teachers, and writers used rhetorical evidence such as logos, pathos, and ethos to get their point across and to change to view point of another individual.
Palmer, William. "Rhetorical Analysis." Discovering Arguments: An Introduction to Critical Thinking, Writing, and Style. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2012. 268-69. Print.
Through the accompaniment of rhetorical devices and pathos, one can strengthen his or her argument to the point where others see no other option. When spoken at the right occasions and with enough of supporting evidence, an argument will enrapture the audience and make people find your argument logical and appealing. Patrick Henry made his speech less than a month before the American Revolution took place. Thomas Paine began a series of articles when the call for men to fight against the British was urgent. When someone makes and argument, even the smallest detail counts.
Effectively communicating an idea or opinion requires several language techniques. In his study of rhetoric, Aristotle found that persuasion was established through three fundamental tools. One is logos, which is used to support an argument through hard data and statistics. Another is ethos, which is the credibility of an author or speaker that allows an audience to conclude from background information and language selection a sense of knowledge and expertise of the person presenting the argument. The impact of pathos, however, is the most effective tool in persuasion due to the link between emotions and decisions. Although each of these tools can be effective individually, a combination of rhetorical devices when used appropriately has the ability to sway an audience toward the writer’s point of view.
A rhetorical situation can be found in every composition since it serves as the foundation. To further provide evidence towards my claims about the function of the rhetorical situation, I will analyze how three different compositions were influenced by the rhetorical situation.
Authors use rhetorical strategies to express themes in their writing. Different rhetorical strategies help convey different themes with varying degrees of effectiveness. One way to measure the effectiveness is to rhetorical analyze two pieces of writing to each other and see which is best.
Lloyd F. Bitzer’s article, “The Rhetorical Situation”, is an account of what he calls the “rhetorical situation” as what he believes to be the conditions necessary for compelling a rhetorician to engage in rhetoric (35). It is Bitzer’s position that a work of rhetoric comes into existence as a response to the call of a certain state of affairs in the world (32). Furthermore, Bitzer claims that when we find ourselves in such “situations”, we are compelled to engage in rhetoric in order to restore the balance that we find lacking (34). He identifies three interconnected elements of situational rhetoric: exigence, audience, and constraints (35). Bitzer argues that a rhetorical discourse, which consists of an engagement with an audience for the purpose of compelling that audience to modify the world so as to repair the problem which is presented (35), is required to solve the problem as the world presents it (34). This lack of balance in a rhetorical situation or state of affairs in the world leads to what Bitzer calls exigence, which he defines as “an imperfection marked by urgency” (36). Bitzer also expands on the notion of a rhetorical audience, which is central to his theory of situational rhetoric. Bitzer defines a rhetorical audience as persons who, through discourse, are subject to influence and as persons who can be compelled to bring about the change called for by a rhetorical situation (37). Bitzer also identifies constraints as being a vital component to his theory, which he defines as anything within the rhetorical situation which has the power to “constrain decision” (38).
Is it true that the use of utterances and linguistic functions in verbal communication, wherein the comprehensive communicative act, comprise more rhetorical power than the written word? Why people generally prefer face-to-face interaction to discuss significant issues rather than using electronic media at our fingertips? “Why do people meet in debating chambers to make rules and reach political positions when they could surely more easily handle the complexity of the issues and the large amount of relevant data by exchanging documents and be done with it?” (Furniss, 2004, P. 1) This article will help you in deciding if the spoken word has more rhetorical power
In that light, it is interesting to analyse what it is that made these artistic words such a difference. A difference that persuaded people to change their behavior. Thankfully, human history has created a term to define these great speeches. It is called rhetoric. In this essay we will try to determine whether rhetoric is an art, or merely a
In the story, What is Rhetoric by William Covino and David Jolliffe, there are a wide variety of topics discussed that are inextricably interwoven with the concept “rhetoric.” Rhetoric, as defined by the authors, is “the study and practice of shaping content.” Consequently, my first thought was: Ok, this is a rather broad and opaque description; my successive thought, however, was one of astonishment, inasmuch as the authors went on to further elucidated this jargon. In doing so, the authors distilled the most crucial elements of what is rhetoric— the prevalence of discourse community, and how appealing language is often a precursor to persuasion.
Proverbs 1:20-33 is a climactic telling of what happens to those who do not fear the Lord and seek knowledge as said in Proverbs 1:7. Wisdom is not just talked about in the first chapter, but found throughout the book of Proverbs. Throughout there is also a common theme about what will happen to those who do not choose wisdom. This pericope is basically a set up for the rest of the book in regards to what happens to those who do not choose wisdom. Wisdom is also personified as a woman. Woman wisdom will seek after those who are simple and hate knowledge with patience for only so long; once she has had enough she will present to them one last option that is severe in hopes that they will change their ways.
Bricker, Daniel P. The Doctrine of the “Two Ways” in Proverbs. Doctoral candidate in Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena. 1995. ATLA index.
A proverb is “a brief statement of universally accepted truth formulated in such a way as to be memorable” (Grant Osborne, The Hermeneutical Spiral, p. 195).