Mark Antony’s Funeral Oration Purpose Rhetorical Strategies

Purpose Every persuasive speech has a purpose. Before you can determine the strategies used, you must determine the purpose for the speech. What is Antony’s purpose?

Rhetoric Rhetoric may be defined as the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion. -Aristotle

Rhetorical devices and strategies These are tools that authors and orators utilize in order to convey their purpose to their intended audience.

Ambiguity the multiple meanings, either intentional or unintentional, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage.

Amplification involves repeating a word or expression while adding more detail to it, in order to emphasize what otherwise might be passed over.

Antanagoge placing a good point or benefit next to a fault criticism, or problem in order to reduce the impact or significance of the negative point.

Antiphrasis one word irony, established by context.

Assonance repetition of the same sound in words close together.

Asyndeton lack of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words.

Antistrophe repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses.

Aposiopesis a form of ellipse by which a speaker comes to an abrupt halt, seemingly overcome by passion (fear, excitement, etc.) or modesty.

Diacope repetition of a word or phrase after an intervening word or phrase.

Hysteron Proteron ("later-earlier")- inversion of the natural sequence of events, often meant to stress the event which, though later in time, is considered the more important.

Repetition the duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language, such as a sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern. When repetition is poorly done, it bores, but when it’s well done, it links and emphasizes ideas while allowing the reader the comfort of recognizing something familiar.

Rhetorical Question one that does not expect an explicit answer. It is used to pose an idea to be considered by the speaker or audience.

Sarcasm a comic technique that ridicules through caustic language. Tone and attitude may both be described as sarcastic in a given text if the writer employs language, irony, and wit to mock or scorn.

Ethos The “ethical” appeal of an argument. This relates to the speaker/writer. Does he have the authority to argue his point?

Pathos This refers to the emotional appeal of an argument. What strategies are used to illicit emotions?

Logos This refers to the logical appeal of an argument. What strategies are used to appeal to logic?

Logical Fallacies Fallacies are statements that might sound reasonable or superficially true but are actually flawed or dishonest. It is important to avoid them in your own arguments, and it is also important to be able to spot them in others' arguments so a false line of reasoning won't fool you.

Argumentum ad Populum (Literally "Argument to the People): Using an appeal to popular assent, often by arousing the feelings and enthusiasm of the multitude rather than building an argument. It is a favorite device with the propagandist, the demagogue, and the advertiser.

Argumentum Ad Misericordiam, (literally, "argument from pity"): An emotional appeal concerning what should be a logical issue during a debate. While pathos generally works to reinforce a reader’s sense of duty or outrage at some abuse, if a writer tries to use emotion merely for the sake of getting the reader to accept what should be a logical conclusion, the argument is a fallacy.

Dicto Simpliciter, (Literally “Jumping to Conclusions”): Mistaken use of inductive reasoning when there are too few samples to prove a point. Example: "Susan failed Biology 101. Herman failed Biology 101. Egbert failed Biology 101. I therefore conclude that most students who take Biology 101 will fail it." In understanding and characterizing general situations, a logician cannot normally examine every single example. However, the examples used in inductive reasoning should be typical of the problem or situation at hand.

Ignorantio Elenchi (Literally “Irrelevant Conclusion”) One of the most common forms of Ignorantio Elenchi is the "Red Herring." A red herring is a deliberate attempt to change the subject or divert the argument from the real question at issue to some side-point.

Argumentum Ad Ignorantium, (literally "Argument from Ignorance): Appealing to a lack of information to prove a point, or arguing that, since the opposition cannot disprove a claim, the opposite stance must be true. An example of such an argument is the assertion that ghosts must exist because no one has been able to prove that they do not exist.

Complex Question (Also called the "Loaded Question"): Phrasing a question or statement in such as way as to imply another unproven statement is true without evidence or discussion.

Analyzing rhetorical strategies It is not simply enough to tell me that a rhetorical strategy is used. You must also explain how it is used effectively to convey the author’s purpose.