Rhetorical Analysis: The Delphic Oracle

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Written by Henry A. Spiller, John R. Hale, and Jelle Z. De Boer, the 7-page article, “The Delphic Oracle: A Multidisciplinary Defense of the Gaseous Vent Theory,” was originally published in the Journal of Toxicology in February 2002. The Journal of Toxicology’s audience is very professional as it is aimed primarily toward professional toxicologists or students who are pursuing a profession in toxicology. The article was then reprinted in our textbook, Writing in the Sciences 3rd Ed. by Penrose and Katz, and this is the copy that I used. The article, “The Delphic Oracle: A is effective in defending the theory that the prophecy of the Pythias occurred after an inhaling of gases from a vent of geological origin. The article is structured very …show more content…

The authors write in a way that evokes their passion on persuading the audience; the author’s make you feel as if you are just as ardent on the subject as they are. One way the article does this is by telling a few short informational story-like passages. For example, the whole introduction gives information about the Oracle of Delphi and how the Pythia read scriptures from a tripod that was placed on a fissure deep in the temple of Apollo (Spiller et al., 331). Given that the audience reading this paper is trained in chemical and medical backgrounds and may not know anything about the Oracle, this introduction gives insight on the subject and also makes the reader feel more connected to what the author is writing. There also is one analogy that stands out in this article; Spiller et al. use a barstool as an example of what the tripod that the Pythia sat on looked like. Another way the article backs up its strong pathos is by the use of visual drawings and pictures. As a reader, I was having difficulty following exactly what the setting was when the Pythia was practicing but figure 1 on the third page of the article really helped me to understand what the setting was. Also, in the article they talk about a geological vent that was made possible by an earthquake and the figure on the last page of the article …show more content…

The authors all have highly regarded positions in their specific professions which makes them very credible and gives the article very good ethos. The authors’ strong pathos has a very positive effect on the article as a whole; the authors portray themselves as being very passionate about the gaseous vent theory and this makes for an article that is appealing to the reader’s emotions. The authors had some trouble in using an effective pathos; they were able to identify the audience and effectively write the article for that audience. The structure was a key feature in the effectiveness of the article, however, I would recommend using more tables with pertinent information rather than drawings. Overall, a very effective article that used a consistent style and a diction that was formal and targeted toward a scientific, professional

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