English 204 Paper #1 Assignment 750-850 woreds

Worth 10% Due April 11 2005

Select one of the following topics:

1. Rhetorical Analysis: Logos, Pathos and Ethos

In The Rhetoric, a fourth century BCE treatise on techniques of persuasion, Aristotle laid out principles of effective communication that organized much of the Renaissance Humanist educational program and that remain authoritative today. Persuasion proceeds by three methods: 1)logos, consisting of logical argument that appeals to reason, including evidence and inference; 2)pathos, consisting of appeals to sense and emotion, specifically directed at the target audience; and 3) ethos, consisting of appeals to the credibility of the speaker, including authority, reputation, experience and charm.

[For fuller definition of these terms and examples, go here]

Select one of these persuasive texts—Wither’s Emblem, More’s Utopia, Ralegh’s The Discovery of…Guiana, a speech by Tamburlaine, Elizabeth’s “The Doubt of Future Foes,” Speech to the Troops at Tilbury or Golden Speech, or Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to his love.” State one or more of its persuasive purposes, and describe how the speaker uses logos, pathos and ethos to achieve that purpose.

2. “Shakespeare in Love”—Dulce et Utile

Another fundamental Renaissance Humanist educational principle inherited from the classical writer, Horace, is Dulce et Utile, which translates as sweetness and utility. Valuable literature combines pleasure with instruction, entertainment with purpose. “Shakespeare in Love” fulfills this criterion with an exciting, funny and glamorous story that conveys abundant, dense and reliable information about the political, economic, social and cultural milieu of early modern England. Select one character or theme in the film and relate it to a work or works we have studied, or select one work we have studied and relate it to several elements of the film. Examples: Marlowe’s Tamburlaine, the Queen’s interest in romance, the economic and symbolic meanings of “The New World.”