Class Notes: Week 2 (9/20/10-9/24/10)

Perrine’s:

figure of speech: any way of saying something other than the ordinary way

• as many as 250 in English language
• for literary purposes: saying one thing and meaning another

figurative language: language using figures of speech

• shouldn’t be taken literally

different types:

• metaphor: compares two unlike things not using like or as
• simile:compares two unlike things using like or as
• personification:giving human attributes to an animal, object, or concept
• apostrophe:addressing someone absent or dead or nonhuman as if that thing is present and alive and can respond
• synecdoche:use of part for the whole
• metonymy:use of something closely related for thing actually meant
• *both synecdoche and metonymy substitute some significant detail or quality of an experience for the experience itself

some are already so integrated into the language that we don’t notice them: redhead (for red-haired person), hands (for hired help), highbrow (for sophisticated), tongues (for languages)

Why figurative language?

1. imaginative pleasure
2. additional imagery into verse
3. add emotional intensity
4. effective means of concentration

symbol: something that means more than what it is

allegory: narrative or description that has a second meaning beneath the surface

paradox: apparent contradiction that is nevertheless somehow true

overstatement: hyperbole or exaggeration in service of truth

understatement: saying less than what one means

irony: meanings beyond its use merely as a figure of speech

http://cdn-i.dmdentertainment.com/funpages/cms_content/16876/virus_irony.jpg

three types:

verbal: saying the opposite of what one means

dramatic: discrepancy between speaker and poem

situational: discrepancy between actual and expected

circumstances

sarcasm: biting, caustic language (colloquial level)

satire: more formal version of sarcasm (literary level)

*irony is used as their TOOL, but irony does not = sarcasm/satire

rhetoric: the art of communication

rhetorical situation: the context surrounding the rhetoric-Think about this before writing anything!

evaluate elements of the situation:

• subject: What is your topic? main ideas, specificity, examples, details
• purpose: Why? What do you want to get out of this?

to entertain: emotions, imagination-e.g. video games, short stories, fantasies

e.g.-Harry Potter

to reflect: personal experiences-e.g. journals

http://steckvaughn.hmhco.com/HA/correlations/pdf/t/trn10_wrt_u3_l2.pdf

to inform: facts, processes-e.g. reports, textbooks

any scientific journals, like these: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/issue/current

to persuade: change audience’s mind-e.g. editorials, political speeches

http://www.whitehouse.gov/mediaresources/PreparedSchoolRemarks

• audience: Age group? Social, political, religious biases? Educational background? Expectations?
• speaker (persona): What do you want to seem like? attitude, personal characteristics, goals of communication

Argument

What is it? one way to accomplish goal of persuasion

http://apelit-okemos.spruz.com/external.asp?link_id=5EA8295B-903C-4E24-BFE8-B8DBBDD7AE93

How do you do it well?

commentary on persuasive essays: http://www1.english.montana.edu/wc/Information/writing-to-persuade

logical argument (logos)

appeals to ethics (ethos)

appeals to emotions (pathos)

thesis

claim: assertion

warrant: explanation of reasoning-ties evidence to claim

evidence: facts that show claims are reasonable

diagram that incorporates these three aspects:

http://owlet.letu.edu/contenthtml/research/graphics/toulmin2.gif

detailed explanation: http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/Toulmin.pdf

necessary: things you can’t ignore

sufficient: you’ve done enough

overall connections:

• "Pink Dog" uses apostrophes and different types of irony to get its message across.
• "Sorting Laundry" has many symbols; each piece of clothing means something. The work itself may be classified as an allegory, because it can be interpreted in many different ways.
• "Barbie Doll" also has shades of meaning beyond the denotations of its diction. The connotation of the word "consummation," in particular, communicates a bigger message about the horrors of marriage.
• The papers we wrote brings everything we learned together. We're supposed to be editing first for the claims, warrants, and thesis. Then, we're supposed to look for style. In other words, this is our first complete analysis of the rhetorical situation.