Iago : An Aristotelian Rhetorician Essay

Rhetoric is an act of persuasion. Aristotle believes that the most persuasive technique is the truth. He taught others that rhetoric is to be used for persuasion and not manipulation and that it is to be done ethically. When using rhetoric for persuasion, it is important to recognize the rhetorical triangle. The rhetorical triangle includes the speaker, the subject, and the person being addressed. This triangle also demonstrates the three modes of persuasion, logos, ethos, and pathos. The author must embody all parts of the triangle. The speaker must exhibit ethos through their credibility. The subject must encompass logos by making logical sense. The appeal to the audience must use pathos to be persuasive. When these three parts come together, a persuasive speech can be delivered. Of the three sections of the rhetorical triangle, the audience is the most important. I will demonstrate my argument of the role of audience in the rhetorical triangle throughout the essay.

In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Brutus and Antony attempt to persuade the audience of their position on the death of Caesar. While Brutus explains that his death was necessary, Antony claims that Caesar was not deserving of his demise. However, though Brutus does have ample credibility and taps into the emotional link with his audience to some extent, he does not convey as powerful of an argument as Antony, as he fails to provide sufficient factual evidence. Antony, on the other hand, utilizes logical argumentation with solid evidence, creates an emotional connection with his audience, and maintains credibility in order to support his own argument. Through this, it can be seen that Antony’s use of rhetorical appeals and devices is superior

Julius Caesar, a play by William Shakespeare, has many instances of great rhetoric in the speech of its characters. Marc Antony, a main character and a pupil of the great Julius Caesar, has a speech that shows many uses of rhetorical appeal and devices. He is able to sway the citizens easily because of how strong his rhetoric is and how persuasive he is. Antony uses devices like dramatic irony, appeals (ethos, logos, pathos), and repetition to make the citizens believe in him and Caesar to disregard the conspirators argument.

Plato once wrote that, “Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men.” Rhetoric is the foundation of any solid argument, and any good speaker must learn to use it effectively. Creating a strong argument is a difficult task for any speaker, but Mark Antony’s eulogy for Caesar shows us that it can be done with the use of rhetorical strategies and arguments. Antony argues that Caesar was killed unfairly, and wants tells rome to revolt. He accomplishes this argument by using a combination of appeals to the audience's emotions, logic and facts, as well as reasoning and humility.

By skillfully using rhetoric a speaker can persuade an audience to follow their beliefs by using emotions, logic and ethics. In the play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, a group of men create a conspiracy to kill Caesar on March fifteenth and take control of Rome. They succeeded in killing Caesar by stabbing him and to justify their treason they say Caesar was a threat to Rome. On the other hand a man named Marc Antony, who was a close friend of Caesar, needs to persuade the romans that the treason unjust. Antony succeeds by making a powerful speech at Caesar’s funeral. As a skilled speaker he used uses rhetorical devices such as ethos which shows credibility or character, logos which shows a logical approach to the

Plato believed that the purpose of rhetoric should be to inform the audience of what is just and what is unjust, stating that “rhetoric, it seems, effects a persuasion which can produce belief about justice and injustice…” (Plato 18, sec. 455). Seeking “Truth” was the only way to be able to discover what is transcendentally good and beautiful. He realized how dangerous rhetoric could be if it was not used ethically and to pursue the “Good”. This is why his pupil, Aristotle, placed a great importance on the ethos in speeches and writing.

Aristotle believed that rhetoric frequently utilizes three persuasive appeals, Logos, pathos and ethos. The newspapers, magazines and newsreels of the day, certainly support the use of these types of rhetoric.

Rhetoric is a form of persuasive communication. It's a way to inform an audience of knowledge and doesn't necessarily have to come from an expert source. Rhetoric is often used to persuade individuals to believe that a speaker's knowledge is credible. In Gorgias, Socrates is a self-righteous individual who has always questioned everything. Its meant for him and others to distinguish pure knowledge from ignorance itself. Gorgias, on the other hand, is a naive individual and claims he has the ability to answer any given question he has come across. Throughout the story, Socrates uses his knowledge of Rhetoric to prove how Gorgias lacks his experience and knowledge. He often appeals to the crowd to help convey his point of view. With Socrates being the person he is, it shows to the audience that he has the strong belief in his own actions and knows when others are either right or wrong. The crowd watching the debate is important because, in the end, they're going to support the individual with the better argument. Having a connection with the audience does provide Socrates with enough leverage to seem superior to Gorgias. Socrates appeal to the crowd helps him gain an advantage in the debate because unlike Gorgias, Socrates uses his knowledge of philosophy and rhetoric to control the speech.

Rhetoric is the usage of words to persuade when writing or speaking. This was frequently used in William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Julius Caesar”, specifically in act 1 scene 2 by Cassius. By using his powers of manipulation with argumentation and persuasion, Cassius then tries to convince Brutus, a fellow Roman, to join in the conspiracy against Julius Caesar. Doing so, Cassius uses the rhetorical forms of pathos, logos, and the usage of rhetorical questions.

The Gorgias is a dialogue in which Socrates expresses his ideas with others about rhetoric. From the dialogue, it can be argued that the philosopher is a mortal enemy of rhetoric. He condemns it on ethical and epistemic grounds. Socrates argues that rhetoric is not a real knowledge because it is not a legitimate art, and that the teachers of rhetoric are nothing but fraudsters. In addition, he asserts that rhetoric is ethically bankrupt and its main objective is to gratify the ignorant and enhance its experts’ power to practice it.

The book introduces the Rhetoric of Aristotle. Rhetoric became more useful and prevalent due to the democratic government in Greece. As a result, public speaking became more popular, and people started to focus on education in rhetoric and studying methods of persuasion. First, Kennedy starts off with artistic rhetoric, in which the speaker uses logos, pathos, and ethos. Logos can be interpreted in terms of Christianity “as given to it by some divine creator” (Kennedy 12). Therefore, the logos is the powerful element that implies logical reasoning and the logic of the universe. Also, the technique of rhetoric became important between a speaker and audiences. Technique of rhetoric can contribute to powerful persuasion. Invention, arrangement, and style became the first three factors of the five factors of the rhetoric. Either the speaker’s speech is artistic or non-artistic, It is important that people focus on the different methods, theory of

Rhetoric is a form of persuasion often used in, “Julius Caesar,” the reader may find it in Antony and Brutus farewell speeches to Caesar. In the story, “Julius Caesar” Antony has many objective points against Brutus and as to why the common folk should distrust him. Brutus however has many strong claims as to why he decided to slay his beloved friend, he offered, “I love Caesar, but I loved Rome more,” as an excuse to distract the common folk from harming him and the other counterparts. Julius Caesar is about betrayal, and how one can never be too trusting.

Rhetoric is the teaching of writing and speech which can cause change in the mind of the listener. In Greek democracy citizens would assemble to discuss and solve the problems of Athens, and persuasive rhetorical political speeches would take place. The sole purpose of rhetoric is to persuade. Sophists are first to apply rhetoric in their speeches. The word ‘sophiest’ is the coinage of words of sophia (wisdom) and sophos (wise). “A group of itinerant teachers who went from city to city earning their living by instructing others in subtle argumentation” (Leitch 29) as some scholars state they would be paid in return for their teaching. They claimed that they were “members of a profession and not a school of thought” (29) and gave the meaning

Rhetoric is the art of using language effectively so as to persuade or influence others, esp. the exploitation of figures of speech and other compositional techniques to this end; the study of principles and rules to be followed by a speaker or writer striving for eloquence, esp. as formulated by ancient Greek and Roman writers (Oxford English Dictionary). Since the 8th century BC, skill and wisdom were prized. The Sophists were originally poets and teachers who spread learning and culture wherever they could for money. Being or appearing wise, the sophists were the good lawyers and advised the governance and the new Athenian democracy. Over a period of time, the Sophists focused more on well-spoken speech and rhetoric, making great claims about their ability to answer all the questions. This caused them up to go against 'modern' thinkers such as Socrates, who did not charge and Plato, who made them look like greedy instructors who used irrational reasoning to deceive and to gain power. Aristotle also helped separate out philosophy and sophism. Many opinions turned against the sophists. Today 'sophism' means the use of deceptive

Rhetoric is the intricate use of language in order to influence or persuade individuals. Very common during Elizabethan England, rhetoric was the subject of schooling, and a central theme of literature. Throughout his plays, Shakespeare is saturated in rhetoric. Shakespeare employees rhetoric through the grammatical techniques involved in characters’ speeches, and throughout dialogue characters make on the methods of communication. In the play, a political conspiracy, rhetoric is showcased as the defining aspect of life, making Julius Caesar, in fact, a play about rhetoric alone. In the Tragedy of Julius Caesar, political authorities implement rhetoric as a tool used to manipulate others to gain power politically and socially.