Test three Flashcards
Kenneth Burke’s Definition of Man
Humans are:
- symbol-using, symbol misusing animals
- Inventors of the negative
- Separated from his natural conditions by instruments of his own making
- Goaded by a spirit of hierarchy
- Rotten w/ perfection
5 uses of symbols
- Interpret the situation
- Accept the situation
- As a corrective measure
- Exerciser of the submerged experience
- Emancipator - distraction from a situation
- Artistic effects - symbols for fun/pleasure
4 reasons to study figures of speech
- Ornamentation
- Cicero’s office of the orator
-functions:
• Instructing/educating (attic)
• Convincing (middle)
• Stirring the emotions - The subtleties (nuances) of language’s persuasion
- Eloquence
8 schemes
Utilize structure
- isocolon
- antithesis
- antimetabole
- anaphora
- epistrophe
- epenalepsis
- anadiplosis
- Alliteration
7 tropes
Unusual word meanings; metaphors
- metaphor
- synecdoche
- metonymy
- syllepsis
- irony
- paradox
- oxymoron
Isocolon
-Tightly parallel structure
-Climactic
-Emphasizes sequential action & repeated words
-i.e. “I came, I saw, I conquered”
“Of the people, by the people, for the people”
Antithesis
-Parallele structure w/ contrasting, juxtaposed ideas
-Indicates universal inclusiveness
i.e. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”
“Up w/ hope, down w/ dope”
Antimetabole
- type of antithesis
- Reverses arrangement of exact same words
- memorable
- i.e. “One for all and all for one”
Anaphora
- repetition of the beginning unit
- unifies text or section of speech
- i.e.”I have a dream…”
Epistrophe
- Repetition of the end unit
- Diverse messages but yields same effect
- inescapable conclusion
- i.e. “As long as the white man sent you, you bled. He sent you to Korea, you bled. He sent you to Germany, you bled. He sent you to the South Pacific, you bled.”
Epenalepsis
-Repetition at the beginning & end
-Circles back around to the beginning
-Heightens the equivalency of 2 items
-i.e.”15 minutes could save you 15%”
“An eye for an eye”
Anadiplosis
- Repetition of end term at the start of the next unit
- Sequence of events
- Cause & effects claims
- i.e. don’t wake up in a ditch commercial
Metaphor
Implied comparison b/w the borrowed word and what it literally means
- often overlooked
- i.e. “War on drugs”
synecdoche
-Part that stands for the whole
-1. Created synecdoche- “catchy” phrase created for that discourse
-Established synecdoche- using a phrase that’s identified w/ a previous discourse
-i.e. “new set of wheels”
“Do the right thing” (acquit OJ)
Metonymy
- substitutes a concrete attribute associated w/ the word
- i.e. “The buses are on strike”
syllepsis
-same word, two meanings
-double entendre
-i.e. “Never stop improving”
“Nothing runs like a deer(e)”
Irony
- means the exact opposite
- risk: the audience may take it literally
- i.e. sarcasm, “Just sayin’”
Paradox
- An apparently contradictory statement, bu w/ some truth to it
- i.e. “Imported from Detroit”
Oxymoron
- 2 terms that are apparently contradictory
- i.e. jumbo shrimp
Longinus “On the Sublime”
Importance of eloquence
- Full blooded ideas
- Vehement emotions
- Proper construction of figures of speech
- Nobility of phrase (grammar)
- General effect
Metaphorical analysis
- Metaphors are revelatory of speaker’s worldview
- 3 types of metaphors
- personal
- cultural
- archetypical
Spatial metaphors
Relational: indicates relative status
-i.e. up/down, forward/backward
Locational: place metaphors
- Identifies a community (i.e. we’re all in this together)
- represents qualities that are located in a particular place (i.e. he’s stuck in that disco era)
Directional: illustrates change
-i.e. moving up or moving down
Richard Weaver’s God or devil terms
- a term that contains within itself a system of languages
- fallacy of false dilemma
- subordinate terms: support the god or devil term
- no middle ground
Ultimate terms
god, devil, and charismatic terms
Charistmatic terms
terms that carry positive connotations
- progress
- science
- facts
- new
rhetorical tension
a contradiction that resides within the rhetoric
