Rhetorical Close Reading Notes -- Key Concepts & Textual Examples
Close Reading and Analyzing Rhetorical Strategies
Close reading builds understanding from the words themselves to larger ideas; start with details, then infer larger meaning. In rhetorical analysis, start with the text’s big ideas and use small details to support interpretation.
Texts are shaped by genre, context, audience, purpose, and author persona; these factors influence diction, syntax, and structure.
Rhetorical strategies include appeals to emotion (pathos), logic (logos), and goodwill/credibility (ethos).
Style (sentence structure, diction, imagery, figurative language) reveals meaning and effect; tone contributes to mood and purpose.
Practice: identify how word choice and sentence arrangement create effects on the audience.
The Rhetorical Triangle: Ethos, Pathos, Logos
Ethos: speaker’s credibility and authority; how the speaker positions themselves (e.g., Queen Elizabeth as monarch; Chisholm as a teacher-congresswoman).
Pathos: emotional appeals; vivid images, moral urgency, shared values.
Logos: logical arguments, evidence, cause-effect reasoning.
In analysis, show how combinations of ethos, pathos, and logos advance the author’s purpose.
Diction and Syntax: Key Questions
Diction (word choices): formal/informal, abstract/concrete, figurative language, connotations, tonality.
Syntax (sentence structure): order (subject-verb-object vs. inverted), periodic vs. cumulative, sentence length, use of questions, parallelism, antithesis.
Consider: who the language targets, what feelings it elicits, and how it shapes argument.
Tone and Mood
Tone: speaker’s attitude toward the subject (humble, defiant, hopeful, angry, etc.).
Mood: the atmosphere or feeling created for the reader/listener.
Support tone/mood with specific textual evidence (word choice, punctuation, sentence structure).
Elizabeth I, Speech to the Troops at Tilbury (1588): Quick Reference
Context: Elizabeth I addresses English troops on the eve of a possible invasion by the Spanish Armada; tone blends humility and resolve.
Key moves: adopts the “royal we” to express national unity; shifts from humility to defiance ("I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king"); aligns herself with God, kingdom, and people; promises rewards and loyalty through her lieutenant general; culminates in a triadic promise of victory.
Rhetorical focus: diction (dignified, religious, martial), syntax (parallelism, cumulative lists), ethos (monarchical legitimacy), pathos (unity, courage), logos (reassurance of leadership, rewards).
Outcome: strengthens morale and unites audience against a superior foe; tone described as humble yet inspiring and defiant.
Geoffrey Nunberg, The Decline of Grammar (Close Reading Focus)
Purpose: explore debates between prescriptivists and descriptivists; argue that linguistic change is natural and shaped by history.
Key techniques to analyze: allusions (Orwell), italicized phrases, sports metaphors, Olympian perspective, landscape-gardener metaphor; the author uses humor and irony to temper distrust of change while acknowledging concerns about usage.
Close-reading questions (examples): audience implications of allusions; effect of beginning with a question; use of Latin phrases; purpose of ending paragraphs with a particular metaphor.
Annotation/tactics: mark diction choices, syntax patterns, and how they contribute to a broader point about language and culture.
Florence Kelley, Speech on Child Labor (1905): Key Techniques
Purpose: argue to end child labor; reveal that mothers’ suffrage is essential to enabling policy change.
Ethos: appeals to mothers and workers; uses data and vivid examples to establish credibility and moral urgency.
Pathos: vivid, sometimes shocking imagery (e.g., "beasts of burden"); repeated reference to children’s suffering to evoke empathy.
Logos: specific statistics and state-by-state contrasts; concrete examples of hours and ages; causal link between suffrage and child-labor reform.
Diction and tone: urgent, accusatory, direct; uses pronouns like "we" and "our" to create collective responsibility.
Structure: builds from data to emotional appeal to explicit thesis; ends with a call to action for women’s suffrage as the lever to end child labor.
Main thesis (implied): Women’s enfranchisement is essential to abolish child labor; mothers must vote to reform labor laws.
Effective techniques illustrated in notes: repetition, vivid imagery (children as workers who shape our goods), parallelism in calls to action.
Florence Kelley: Graphic Organizer Example (Analytical Tool)
Quotation: key lines about child labor and state laws; use paraphrase to summarize.
Rhetorical Strategy or Style Element: identify devices (pathos, data, imagery, pronoun use).
Effect/Function: explain how devices reinforce her thesis and mobilize audience.
Winston Churchill, Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat (1940)
Context: first speech as wartime leader; calls for national unity and resolve.
Core message: dedication to victory at all costs; moral fortitude in facing crisis.
Rhetorical moves: triadic framing (blood, toil, tears, and sweat); ethos as wartime leader; urgency and gravity of threat; appeals to shared destiny and perseverance.
Purpose: to create resolve and legitimacy for the new wartime government; to mobilize public support for sustained effort.
Shirley Chisholm, People and Peace, Not Profits and War (1969)
Context: first floor speech in Congress; critique of Vietnam War funding vs. domestic needs.
Thesis through evidence: economic costs of war versus education and social programs; explicit link between defense budgets and domestic neglect.
Rhetorical strategies: ethos (credibility as a new Congresswoman), pathos (images of poverty and children), logos (statistics and cause-effect relationships), strong use of repetition and questions to hold the audience.
Key moves: highlight national values, call for prioritizing people over profits, insist on women’s political power to influence policy, emphasize cross-issue coalition (working men and women).
Outcome: positions Chisholm as a principled advocate for social reform and fiscal restraint; positions suffrage as a path to change.
Hillary Clinton, 2016 Concession Speech (2016)
Core purpose: thank supporters, acknowledge loss, call for continued civic engagement, project unity and hope for the future.
Rhetorical strategies: inclusive language (we, together), emphasis on American ideals (democracy, equality, opportunity), aspirational tone (best days ahead), direct appeals to future participation and leadership.
Ethos: long public service record and gratitude toward supporters, colleagues, and family; frames the loss as a collective, not personal, defeat.
Structure: transition from gratitude to instruction (stay involved, keep fighting for values), ends with a forward-looking, unifying call.
Visual Texts: Dodge Durango Advertisement (Campaign Rhetoric)
Core message: this is a strong, affordable, appealing SUV; cues of power, freedom, and adventure.
Ethos: brand credibility via product claims (V-8, towing capacity) and ad agency collaboration; the ram logo reinforces toughness.
Pathos: association with foods (big, juicy cheeseburger) and carefree lifestyle; human appeal through a couple enjoying a day out.
Logos: affordability and practicality of ownership; implied lifestyle benefits.
Visual strategies: aggressive typography, bold phrases, juxtaposition of harsh car imagery with a calm sea backdrop; framing centers the Durango, suggesting momentum and possibility.
Interpretation: the ad weaves power with family-friendly imagery to broaden appeal beyond a single consumer type.
From Close Reading to Essay: Writing a Rhetorical Analysis
Start with a working thesis that explains how specific rhetorical choices achieve the speaker’s purpose.
Gather evidence from the text and analyze how diction, syntax, and structure support the purpose.
Integrate quotations smoothly; avoid long blocks of quotation; always provide commentary that explains how the quote illustrates the point.
Organize an essay around strategies (ethos, pathos, logos), or around cause-and-effect arguments, or around a single major strategy with subpoints.
Consider paragraphing: five-paragraph structure is not mandatory; adapt to the argument’s needs.
Document sources minimally (paragraph numbers can be used when appropriate).
Annotation and Graphic Organizers: Practical Techniques
Annotation: read with a pencil; circle unfamiliar words; mark thesis statements and key devices; note questions and insights.
Graphic organizers: segment the text, paraphrase, identify devices, and analyze their effects; helps reveal patterns and build a cogent argument.
Example activity: complete an organizer for Florence Kelley’s speech to map quotation, paraphrase, devices, and effects.
Quick Reference: Key Terms and Concepts
Close Reading: a careful, line-by-line analysis that builds toward larger interpretation.
Rhetorical Strategies: appeals to emotion (pathos), logic (logos), and credibility (ethos).
Diction: word choice; connotations; figurative language.
Syntax: sentence structure; order; rhythm; pacing.
Tone vs. Mood: speaker’s attitude vs. audience’s emotional response.
Rhetorical Triangle: relationship among speaker, audience, and subject.
Ethos, Pathos, Logos: core modes of persuasion.
Thesis in rhetorical analysis: a defensible claim about how the author’s choices achieve purpose; grounded in textual evidence.
Quotations: use sparingly; integrate with analysis; cite with paragraph numbers when needed.
Visual Rhetoric: applying close-reading techniques to images; analyzing ethos, pathos, logos in ads and visuals.
Important Years, Numbers (with LaTeX)
Tilbury Speech year: .
Gates opening/opening museum discussions and related dates: (museum opening; Lonnie G. Bunch III).
Kelley data: two million children: ; hours and ages include numbers like hours, hours, hours; tenements and goods references include specific products.
War and defense figures (Chisholm): defense budget around per year; two-thirds of tax dollars spent on defense: .
Hillary Clinton concession: 2016: year ; references to ongoing national issues and unity.
Churchill’s opening: context in 1940; repeated emphasis on victory at all costs (no specific numeric values required here).
Throughout, use exact quotes and cite paragraphs when needed (e.g., (para. 2)).