Rhetoric of Political

Speeches and
Documents
Rhetoric
Rhetoric: the art of choosing
and using words to effectively
persuade an audience
In addition to the content of the
appeals, political documents
and speeches also often employ
rhetorical strategies
Political Rhetoric
Political speeches and essays
are generally persuasive
Recall the 3 modes of
persuasion:
Appeals to ethics (ethos)
Appeals to emotion (pathos)
Appeals to reason (logos)
Analyzing Documents
First look at Who and Why:
Audience to whom is the
speaker delivering the speech?
Purpose why is he/she giving a
speech?
Analyzing Documents
Next, look at the HOW:
Types of appeals (logos/pathos)
Use of literary devices
(metaphor, simile,
personification, imagery)
Use of rhetorical devices
Tone and word choice
Persuasive efficacy
Rhetorical Devices
Rhetorical strategies include:
Parallelism
Repetition
Restatement
Rhetorical Questions
Aphorisms
Diction / Charged Words
Parallelism

Parallelism is the use of words,

phrases, clauses, or sentences
that are similar in structure.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged
our coasts, burned our towns, and
destroyed the lives of our people.
Parallel Words
Using words from same part of
speech; sometimes alliterative:
He has called together legislative
bodies at places unusual,
uncomfortable, and distant from
the depository of their public
records.
Parallel Phrases
He has constrained our fellow
citizens taken captive on the
high seas to bear arms against
their country, to become the
executioners of their friends
and brethren, or to fall
themselves by their hands.
Repetition

Repetition is added for

emphasis (and conveys tone)
Look for words or phrases that
are repeated, word for word
I have a dream
Restatement
Restatement is repeating an idea in a
variety of ways.
In The Declaration of Independence,
Thomas Jefferson states that the people
have a right to overthrow an abusive
government in several ways:
under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is
their duty, to throw off such government
Our repeated petitions have been answered
only by repeated injuryA tyrant is unfit to be
the ruler of a free people
Rhetorical questions
asking a question whose
answer is self-evident:
But if a thief breaks into my
house, burns and destroys my
property, and kills or threatens to
kill me, or those that are in itam
I to suffer it?
Aphorisms
Brief, pointed statements
expressing a wise observation.
Early to bed, early to rise, makes
a man healthy, wealthy, and wise
(Franklin).
No gains without pains
(Franklin).
All men are created equal
(Jefferson).
Diction / Word Choice
Look at the words chosen- the
nouns, verbs, and adjectives.
Why is one word used rather
than a synonym or similar word?
Example: Why would someone
use friend instead of
acquaintance?
Charged Words
Charged words are those
producing an emotional
response:
unalienable rights
absolute despotism
patient sufferance
harass our people and eat out
their substance
Recap
When analyzing:
Who is the audience?
What is the purpose?
How does the document achieve
its purpose?
What appeals and devices does the
speech employ?
Is the piece effective?
Writing Practice
Please copy the following prompt in
your notebook:
Write an essay in which you compare
TWO of the following: The Declaration
of Independence, the excerpt from The
Crisis, Number 1, and Speech in the
Virginia Convention. In your essay,
focus on the purposes of the authors
and rhetorical strategies they used to
achieve those purposes.
Read Henrys Speech p. 186, then
write.