Identifying European Rhetorical Theories

Background:
For this annotation activity, you will have the opportunity to identify examples of rhetorical techniques in a contemporary speech.

Assignment:
Select one of the video clips to the video. As you watch the speech, evaluate it according to one of the standards of one of the following European rhetorical theories:
Longinus’s sublime (see pp. 60-62 of the course textbook): identify examples of natural qualities (e.g., silence, amplification, and appeals to the imagination) as well as artistic qualities (e.g., asyndeton, hyperbaton, periphrasis, diction, and composition).
Blair’s belletristic movement (see pp. 74-79 of the course textbook): identify examples of taste, language, style, and eloquence.
Campbell’s philosophy of rhetoric (see pp. 92-95 the course textbook): look for ways that the speaker enlightens the understanding, pleases the imagination, moves the passions, and influences the will.
Toulmin’s layout of arguments (see pp. 100-103 the course textbook): identify the speaker’s data, warrant(s), and claim(s), as well as any qualifiers or backing evident in the speech.

You must complete a minimum of four annotations to earn full points for this assignment. Annotations must be substantive: a one-word comment such as “eloquence” or “warrant” will not suffice. Explain how the words, phrases, or sentences you are highlighting in the speech represent examples of the rhetorical concepts you are identifying.

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