In his letter dated January 30, 1801, Charles Lamb efficiently utilizes a variety of rhetorical techniques to eloquently and politely decline William Wordsworth’s invitation to visit him. Mr. Lamb is an especially well-equipped individual in the field of composition, as indicated by his efficient use of rhetorical devices (Latinate word choice, sentence structure, and other aspects of syntax). He is able to deliver his message of decline politely and eloquently while at the same time avoiding the offense of the reader, Mr. William Wordsworth. He is able to explain why he is unable to accept the offer without giving the impression of being off-put. And he does so with class, sophistication, and skill.
Among the rhetorical devices used by Lamb,
one of the most prominent is Latinate diction. In lines 15 and 16 he refers to his city of London as a “pantomime and a masquerade” and states that all of the aspects of London “feed me [Mr. Lamb] without a power of satiating me” when he could have more simply stated that it was the character of London that filled him with vitality but could never truly satisfy him. Again, he uses Latinate diction (words such as pantomime, masquerade, satiate, impels, and motley) in lines 23-25 to describe his lack of passion for the geography to which he is being invited. It is among these same lines- in addition to lines such as 11 and 18- that he employs varied aspects of punctuation as a rhetorical tool. It is this technique that pulls the reader’s attention to the designated focal points; the use of Latinate diction serves to soften the given statement being thus analyzed. In addition to the previously scrutinized rhetorical devices manipulated by Lamb, the use of fragments, metaphors, and similes is apparent as well. Within lines 19-21 lie several fragments that are still fully capable of driving home the point that Lamb is trying to make- that is, although he may feel differently about the country than does Mr. Wordsworth, he possesses legitimate reasons for harboring such sentiments. The use of metaphors and similes by Mr. Lamb may be found among lines 15, 25-28, and 30-32 where he exercises these methods to compare London to a pantomime and masquerade in the form of a metaphor, aspects of his life in London to mistresses with a metaphor, and contrast the effects of different aspects of rural life upon himself to the sentiments extracted from him by objects of urban living as a simile. While these tools of rhetoric are relatively easy to identify and subsequently scrutinize, one of the most common devices applied within this letter could undoubtedly go unnoticed as it is used so plainly. And that technique is listing. There is not a single paragraph within the letter that is free from any lists. There is a list in lines 8-16 in the first paragraph. There is a list in lines 25-28 in the second paragraph. There is a list in line 30 in the second paragraph. They abound throughout the entirety of the letter and they certainly do well in emphasizing the enormity of each statement that Lamb makes. Lamb’s use of such a variety of rhetorical devices certainly does well in delivering his message proficiently and poignantly while still exhibiting a strong and considerate voice. His purpose- to decline Wordsworth’s invitation to visit him in the country- remains clear and there is no doubt as to what he is trying to accomplish.
Whether we like to think about it or not, slavery has been a part of our country’s history and eradicating it was a struggle. Benjamin Banneker, the son of former slaves, writes to Thomas Jefferson to convict the institution of slavery in the United States. Banneker’s letter exhibits his negative feelings on the issue of slavery in which he provided many emotional and religious appeals, allusions and a critical tone to argue against slavery.
Edward O. Wilson, the writer of this satire, writes about the opinions of two disagreeing sides to demonstrate the unproductive nature of these litigations. To do this, the author writes in a horatian manner and uses instances of exaggeration, parody, incongruity, and irony to help him convey his message that these arguments are pointless. The well distributed use of these strategies allows the writer to efficiently illustrate and mock the unproductive disagreement of these two groups of people.
Johnson is using a very logical and rational approach towards the woman's request throughout the entire letter. He warns the woman that hope immoderately enjoyed will be expiated by pain. Johnson is being somewhat critical of the woman's request by grounding her in reality. He is explaining that her hope and request is not a valid reason for admitting her son. His tone is used with a direct and objective reasoning to the negative consequences of excessive hope and expectation which she indulges in.
In a letter Abigail Adams rights to her son, John Quincy Adams, who is traveling abroad with his father, John Adams, she advises her son to take advantage of the opportunities he has to utilize his own knowledge and talents to improve his sophistication and obtain growth in expanding im his character. Abigail Adams carried a maternal tone to encourage her son along his journey throughout the letter. Adams supports her position by giving examples with pathos, analogies and allusions.
Samir Boussarhane During the early 20th century in the U.S, most children of the lower and middle class were workers. These children worked long, dangerous shifts that even an adult would find tiresome. On July 22, 1905, at a convention of the National Woman Suffrage Association in Philadelphia, Florence Kelley gave a famous speech regarding the extraneous child labor of the time. Kelley’s argument was to add laws to help the workers or abolish the practice completely.
Florence Kelley was a social and political reformer that fought for woman’s suffrage and child labor laws. Her speech to the National American Woman’s Suffrage Association initiated a call to action for the reform of child labor laws. She explains how young children worked long and exhausting hours during the night and how despicable these work conditions were. Kelley’s use of ethos, logos, pathos, and repetition helps her establish her argument for the reform of the child labor laws.
In Dan McCall’s essay, “From the Reliable Narrator,” McCall stresses that the lawyer/narrator should be viewed as a reliable and trustworthy source. His perspective on the lawyer a “distinct minority”, as he feels very few view the lawyer in that way. Many critics see the lawyer as the opposite of McCall, and inforce that the lawyer is unreliable and blameworthy. That he is a representation of ‘consumer capitalism” and the he ‘is simply incapable of recognizing-the political and economic forces that have made him what he is” (McCall, 272). McCall uses other critic’s perspectives in order to reflect light on his own. He explains that the lawyer is someone he trusts, when he first read it at the age of eighteen and even now, because the lawyer
I chose this word because the tone of the first chapter seems rather dark. We hear stories of the hopes with which the Puritans arrived in the new world; however, these hopes quickly turned dark because the Purtains found that the first buildings they needed to create were a prison, which alludes to the sins they committed; and a cemetery, which contradicts the new life they hoped to create for themselves.
Henry Thoreau uses specific rhetorical strategies in Walden to emanate his attitude towards life. With the use of many strategies Thoreau shows that life should be centered around Nature. People live their lives not ever taking a second glance of what Nature does and has done for humanity and Thoreau is trying to prove his point. Humanity owes Nature everything for without it humans would be nothing.
Niccolò Machiavelli was a man who lived during the fourteen and fifteen hundreds in Florence, Italy, and spent part of his life imprisoned after the Medici princes returned to power. He believed that he should express his feelings on how a prince should be through writing and became the author of “The Qualities of a Prince.” In his essay, he discusses many points on how a prince should act based on military matters, reputation, giving back to the people, punishment, and keeping promises. When writing his essay, he follows his points with examples to back up his beliefs. In summary, Machiavelli’s “The Qualities of a Prince,” provides us with what actions and behaviors that a prince should have in order to maintain power and respect.
In 1729, Jonathan Swift published a pamphlet called “A Modest Proposal”. It is a satirical piece that described a radical and humorous proposal to a very serious problem. The problem Swift was attacking was the poverty and state of destitution that Ireland was in at the time. Swift wanted to bring attention to the seriousness of the problem and does so by satirically proposing to eat the babies of poor families in order to rid Ireland of poverty. Clearly, this proposal is not to be taken seriously, but merely to prompt others to work to better the state of the nation. Swift hoped to reach not only the people of Ireland who he was calling to action, but the British, who were oppressing the poor. He writes with contempt for those who are oppressing the Irish and also dissatisfaction with the people in Ireland themselves to be oppressed.
Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, "The Raven" starts off in a dark setting with an apartment on a "bleak December" night. The reader meets an agonized man sifting through his books while mourning over the premature death of a woman named Lenore. When the character is introduced to the raven he asks about Lenore and the chance in afterlife in which the bird replies “nevermore” which confirms his worst fears. This piece by Edgar Allen Poe is unparalleled; his poem’s theme is not predictable, it leads to a bitter negative ending and is surrounded by pain. To set this tone, Poe uses devices such as the repetition of "nevermore" to emphasize the meaning of the word to the overall theme; he also sets a dramatic tone that shows the character going from weary
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