Rhetoric of the Labor Movement

Two parts of a metaphor

Tenor: the concept being explained; Vehicle: the lens used to understand the tenor.

Critics of Metaphors

Richard Whately and Thomas Hobbes: Argued metaphors distort meaning and deceive audiences

4 Steps to Conducting Metaphoric Criticism

1. Select an artifact (text, speech, etc.)

2. Identify metaphors

3. Sort metaphors (group by common themes)

4. Explain their impact (How they shape perceptions)

Types of visual metaphors

1. Substitution: one object replaces another

2. Fusion: two ideas blend together

3. Juxtaposition: two ideas placed side by side

The Five Canons of Rhetoric

1. Invention (making the argument, ethos pathos logos)

2. Organization (speech structure and emphasis)

3. Style (word choice, style of speech)

4. Delivery (presentation style, gestures, voice)

5. Memory (speaker’s control over the content)

Consubstantial

When two entities are united in substance through common ideas, attitudes, material possessions, or other properties

Kenneth Burke

CLUSTER CRITICISM: Specialized in symbol-systems and symbolic action, studied philosophy, literature, linguistics, rhetoric, sociology, and economics, defines rhetoric as the use of words by human agents to form attitudes or to induce actions in other human agents

Symbol Clusters

Groups of words/images that appear frequently together.

Terministic Screens

The selection of terminology of a rhetor; their “lens” which determines interpretation and therefore worldview

God vs Devil Terms

Words with positive associations (e.g., "freedom," "justice"). Words with negative associations (e.g., "terrorist," "evil"). Ex: Trump’s speech

Cluster Procedure

1. Selecting an artifact 

2. Analyzing the artifact 

3. Formulating a research question 

4. Writing the essay.