Rhetorical Analysis Of Shakespeare By Michael Mack

After King Lear’s two oldest daughters, Goneril and Regan express their love for their father in a flattering speech they were granted their share of the kingdom, and Cordelia his youngest daughter and favorite daughter refused to play along, Lear felts she was disrespectful and she was banished from his sight. Cordelia bids farewell to her sisters, and tells them that she knows they don’t love him, “I know you what you are, and like a sister am most loath to call your faults as they are named.” (1.2.273-275). “Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides; who covers faults, at last shame them derides. Well may you prosper!” (1.2.284-286). Once Cordelia left, Goneril and Regan revealed to the audience that they had no love for their father.

A fallacy is a weak argument that uses devices such as beliefs or emotions to support a claim. For example, in lines 28-29 of Mack’s speech he claims, “what would be surprising- and a genuine cause for concern- would be if someone read Shakespeare and thought they’d understand him.” This claim weakens his argument because it is an overgeneralization. Mack is placing a blanket statement on first time readers by saying that it would be surprising if someone understood Shakespeare the first time that they read his works. He could fortify this claim by making it more specific and not assuming the capability of others. Another example of a fallacy in Michael’s speech can be found in lines 93-94: “ Literature teaches you about life, and the better you understand literature, the better you understand life.” This statement is circular reasoning, which is a fallacy where the author restates the same claim twice in different terms to try and strengthen his argument. Mack can better this statement by elaborating how literature teaches you about life, instead of just restating his claim.

Pursuing further why Shakespeare should not be taught in school is because Shakespeare is very difficult to understand. “Shakespeare's way with words can be tough for students to grasp”.(DeBlasis) Shakespeare is a lot to comprehend because the way Shakespeare speaks is very different from today's text”.(DeBasis) Shakespeare is very tough to understand now days

Mack appeals to his audience which helps him succeeds in achieving the ultimate purpose of persuading  his audience to read shakespeare  and helping them relate to his argument by stating certain aspects to help people relate to him whether they're old or young he also throws in figurative language to spice up his argument altogether also he gives valid and strong reasoning for his central argument which grabs the crowds attention. Macks style and appeal to me as a student because his tone throughout the passage is very stable and persuasive he also uses comparisons , potential concerns to guide the reader and keep them interested for example his tone he is writing as if it's a one on one for example stanza 4-6 throughout this stanza

Shakespeare uses metaphors and figures throughout his plays to give the reader and audience a further understanding of the story he is telling. In Metaphors We Live By, it is stated that “…Metaphorical expressions in everyday language can give us insight into the metaphorical nature of concepts that structure our everyday activities…” (Lakoff & Johnson 7). Through these conceits Shakespeare expands a normal idea and transforms it into

Many Elizabethan bedsides were haunted from “the terrors of the night”. Back then their ghosts were nothing like the pasty blobs we call ghosts now. Theirs were quite gruesome. Ghostly visitations were claimed to have been very unpleasant. Not only this, but they claimed it cast them into a state of spiritual confusion.

The morals and values presented in his works speak to the audience, often offering a new perspective on the world in which they live. Students are affected by the powerful and complex characters and are rewarded with profound insights into human nature and behavior.I firmly believe that Shakespeare's works, like no other literature in the high school curriculum, challenge and invigorate the minds of students. Because of the complex characters, difficult vocabulary and style in which he writes, students must elevate their level of learning to grasp a clear understanding of his works. Shakespeare's plays hold intricate meanings and messages. His

As a high school student, reading his speech did not sway my feelings toward Shakespeare; and I found that his speech was quite on the hyperbolic side instead of giving straight up facts to his argument. His “head and heart” analogy was overall effective, but at the cost of being forcefully repetitive. What seemed to be lacking in his speech was a disconnection between Mack himself and his audience. In other words, it would’ve been more effective to tell a personal story pertaining to how Shakespeare affected Mack first-handedly. That way, the audience would have an easier way to relate to Mack and his

One technique that Mack uses to advance his argument is his use of rhetorical devices. Lines 7-8 Mack used a rhetorical question “I don’t get it; is it really worth the effort?” Asking this question is meant to grab the freshmen’s attention. Although I feel like asking this rhetorical question is ineffective, due to the fact that if someone has no interest in Shakespeare a rhetorical question will go through one ear and out the other. Lines 34-42 Mack used the rhetorical device logos. “The editors, john Heming and henry Condell” said there self that to read Shakespeare you have to read “again and again”. Although Mack tried to include facts in his speech, his facts are ineffective. Proving that Shakespeare is hard to understand doesn’t make someone let alone freshmen want to read.

To start off device that mack uses to advance his argument is his use of rhetorical devices. “I don’t get it is it really worth the effort?” (2-8) and “Reading shakespeare that’s just not me: I’m a normal guy, besides what would my bowling buddies say?” (52-54). These are both examples of his use of rhetorical devices. These questions prove the effectiveness of his argument because shortly after he answers them with analogies. “Let me try to explain by comparing shakespeare to music.” (9-13) also… “we think of biology and chemistry, history and politics etc. as subjects that are focused on the real world, same with Shakespeare.” (63-66). He answered the questions with the use of analogies, comparing Shakespeare to music and the students

To begin, a device that Mack uses to advance his argument is his use of giving the audience his honest opinion of how it feels to read shakespeare for the first time. Lines 5-8

Many of the words used during this time have been replaced or decommissioned as a result of their uselessness. When compared to modern english, “the stigma associated with most of Shakespeare’s work leads it to be considered “archaic,” “over complicated,” or too “elite” for the average person” (Annie Holleran). While language used during the Elizabethan Era is rather aristocratic, the language today has become ordinary and condensed. According to Annie Holleran, an author for PIT Journal, “It is easier for a 140 character tweet or a 3:00 YouTube video to catch the attention of a teenager than a 1000-plus line tragedy, regardless of content.” Many students today have grown up in a culture that is constantly attempting to abbreviate everything to make things move faster. Shakespeare does the opposite, drawing out his play scenes with elaborate character lines and actions, disrupting students’ normal short-cut habits. Not only do students struggle to understand this Shakespearean language, but actors and directors do as well, making it incredibly difficult for audiences to follow along. James Shapiro, in an article for the New York Times, claimed that, “Even if audiences strain to understand exactly what Macbeth says, they grasp what Macbeth feels — but only if an actor knows what that character’s words mean.” If the actors comprehend the

“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” When he said this, Jimmy Dean meant that nothing could hold him back from his goals, and that he would change to accomplish them. If our goal, or our “destination,” is to understand Shakespeare’s original texts, then a modernized version can hold the key to comprehending them. In addition, Shakespeare should be modernized because even in Shakespeare’s time, his texts were difficult to understand, the context is not the same as it was 400 years ago, and most importantly because it is the preference of many students and teachers to help them to understand the original.

I was in the best of settings when I realized that Shakespeare was indeed great. My freshman year in high school, I had English class with an esteemed teacher, Mr. Broza—hailed as the Paul D. Schreiber High School Shakespeare aficionado, founder of Schreiber’s Annual Shakespeare Day, and, perhaps most heart-warming of all, a self-proclaimed Shakespeare lover whose posters of The Bard could be found as wallpaper in his small office. How lucky I thought I was. Indeed, if I wanted to appreciate Hamlet, I was in the right hands.

Shakespeare’s work is littered with metaphors; some which require careful reading to pick up on, while others are easily detectable. Simon Palfrey states that “Shakespeare’s