Rhetorical Devices

Rhetoric is the art of persuasive speaking that was discovered in ancient times. The Cambridge English dictionary defines rhetoric as speech intended to influence people (Cambridge, 2020). Rhetoric is a way of making speech attractive to the audience or the readers. During classical times, rhetoric was a significant subject in schools. Every gentleman had to be taught about the skill of rhetoric. Political speeches are good examples of rhetoric; they are meant to influence and persuade people to take action on various matters.

Many political speeches qualify as rhetoric (Charteris-Black, 2018). Martin Luther King Junior’s “I have a dream” speech is a perfect example of rhetoric. Martin Luther King’s speech is very common, famous, and iconic and has been used as a reference by many politicians to persuade and influence voters. The word dream has been used severally in the speech and it is very emotional. Dreams are very important to people and they tend to show or express people’s desires. The speech is simple and yet still very sincere. The sentence, “I have a dream,” is very simple but still very sincere. The use of the future tense gives people hope and makes them feel like the future is secure and that everything is possible.

There are several rhetorical devices used in the speech. Ethos is convincing the audience that the speaker is of good character, trustworthy and credible (Charteris-Black, 2018) In the speech, Martin Luther King Junior uses the word I to show that he is not different from his audience and that he wants the same things they want. Pathos is another device used in speech. Pathos involves appealing to the audience’s emotions (Charteris-Black, 2018). Martin Luther King Junior appeals to the audience’s emotions through the use of the word dream. There is also the use of hyperbole

Rhetoric and Logical Argument

Rhetoric and logical arguments both have one thing in common; they are meant to persuade. However other than the intention to persuade, they are completely different (Perelman, 2020). While rhetoric persuades people regardless of whether the facts are wrong or true, logical arguments use true or false statements to persuade (Perelman, 2020). Logical arguments move from premise to conclusion while rhetoric uses different directions to get to the conclusion.

I have used rhetoric before to appeal to my audience and persuade them and have them subscribe to my way of thinking.

References

Cambridge. 2020. Rhetoric. Retrieved from: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwLtsvPlmgGSJFBWXWwDHZCsXfn

Charteris-Black, J. (2018). Analyzing political speeches. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Perelman, C. (2020). The realm of rhetoric.

Roberts, W. R. (2014). Rhetoric (pp. 2152-2269). Princeton University Press.