Aufses, American Literature and Rhetoric, 1e - Chapter 1

Terms in this set (38)

rhetoric
Aristotle defined rhetoric as "the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion." In other words, it is the art of finding ways of persuading an audience.
text
While this term generally refers to the written word, in the humanities it has come to mean any cultural product that can be "read" — meaning not just consumed and comprehended but also investigated. This includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, political cartoons, fine art, photography, performances, fashion, cultural trends, and much more.
context
The circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text.
occasion
The time and place a speech is given or a piece is written.
purpose
The goal the speaker wants to achieve.
rhetorical triangle (Aristotelian triangle)
A diagram that illustrates the interrelationship among the speaker, audience, and subject in a text. See page 6.
speaker
This term is most frequently used in the context of literature, specifically poetry. In literature, the speaker is the person who is expressing a point of view in the poem or story—the author, a persona created by the author, or a character. In nonfiction, the speaker is most often the person or group who creates a text, such as a commentator who writes an article, an artist who draws a political cartoon, or even a company that commissions an advertisement. The speaker can sometimes be a person who delivers a text, as in the case of a politician who delivers a speech written by a speechwriter. See also narrator; persona; point of view.
persona
Greek for "mask." The face or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience.
audience
The listener, viewer, or reader of a text. Most texts are likely to have multiple audiences.
subject
The topic of a text. What the text is about.
rhetorical appeals
Rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling. The three major appeals are to ethos (character), logos (reason), and pathos (emotion).
ethos
Greek for "character." Speakers appeal to ethos to demonstrate that they are credible and trustworthy to speak on a given topic. Ethos is established by both who you are and what you say.
logos
Greek for "embodied thought." Speakers appeal to logos, or reason, by offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, statistics, or expert testimony to back them up.
counterargument
An opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward. Rather than ignoring a counterargument, a strong writer will usually address it through the process of concession and refutation.
concession
An acknowledgment that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable. In a strong argument, a concession is usually accompanied by a refutation challenging the validity of the opposing argument.
refutation
Addresses the counterargument. It is a bridge between the writer's proof and conclusion.
pathos
Greek for "suffering" or "experience." Speakers appeal to pathos to emotionally motivate their audience. More specific appeals to pathos might play on the audience's values, desires, and hopes, on the one hand, or fears and prejudices, on the other.
diction
A writer's choice of words. In addition to choosing words with precise denotations and connotations, an author must choose whether to use words that are abstract or concrete, formal or informal, or literal or figurative. Analysis of diction looks at these choices and what they add to the speaker's message. See colloquial language.
denotation
The literal definition of a word, often referred to as the "dictionary definition."
connotation
Meanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition, or denotation. Connotations are often positive or negative, and they often greatly affect the author's tone. Consider the connotations of the words below, all of which mean "overweight."
modifier
An adjective, an adverb, a phrase, or a clause that modifies a noun, pronoun, or verb. The purpose of a modifier is usually to describe, focus, or qualify.
formal diction
See "diction."
informal diction
See "diction."
diction
A writer's choice of words. In addition to choosing words with precise denotations and connotations, an author must choose whether to use words that are abstract or concrete, formal or informal, or literal or figurative. Analysis of diction looks at these choices and what they add to the speaker's message. See colloquial language.
figurative language
Language that uses figures of speech; nonliteral language usually evoking strong images. Sometimes referred to as metaphorical language, most of its forms explain, clarify, or enhance an idea by comparing it to something else; the comparison can be explicit (simile) or implied (metaphor). Other forms of figurative language include personification, paradox, overstatement (hyperbole), understatement, and irony.
metaphor
A figure of speech that compares or equates two things without using like or as. For comparisons made using like or as, see simile.
simile
A figure of speech used to explain or clarify an idea by comparing it explicitly to something else, using the words like, as, or as though.
personification
Attribution of a lifelike quality to an inanimate object or an idea.
allusion
Brief reference to a person, an event, or a place (real or fictitious) or to a work of art.
syntax
The arrangement of words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. This includes word order (subject-verb-object, for instance, or an inverted structure); the length and structure of sentences (simple, compound, complex, or compoundcomplex); and such schemes as parallelism, juxtaposition, antithesis, and antimetabole.
periodic sentence
A sentence whose main clause is withheld until the end.
cumulative sentence
A sentence that completes the main idea at the beginning of the sentence and then builds and adds on.
antithesis
Opposition, or contrast, of ideas or words in a parallel construction.
tone
A speaker's attitude or stance as exposed through stylistic choices. (Tone is often confused with mood, another element of style that describes the feeling created by the work.) Along with mood, tone provides the emotional coloring of a work and is created by some combination of the other elements of style.
shift
A point in a poem that indicates a change in the speaker's perspective.
thesis statement
The chief claim that a writer makes in any argumentative piece of writing, usually stated in one sentence.
exigence
The time and place a speech is given or a piece is written.
parallelism
Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.
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