StonerChap1CB
What makes each of the messages below rhetorical?
"Oh Mistress Mine"
- Who is/are the implied rhetor/s? the author, William shakespeare.
- Who seems to be the intended audience? writers, readers, English majors, teachers, lovers--anyone really Hmmm . Look at what you list as a purpose: "pleading with his love" means the implied audience is a lover, not just anyone. Those others are passers-by but not the implied audience.
- What is the apparent purpose of the message? in the song/poem, the suitor is pleading with his love to not waste time in making up her mind to pursue love. Rather, she is encouraged to seize the moment because they are fleeting.
- How do you know? Specific lines from the poem that shape the suitor's declaration and plea: "What's to come, is still unsure, Youth's a stuff will not endure." Good here: You're reading for the implied audience when you see this. The implied audience is constructed by the work.
5 Charateristics
1. Typically addresses public audiences? Yes. This particular piece is well-known in the literary and show biz world. Good here, but look, too, at who it addressed originally. The idea is less a matter of it being known and more a matter of WHO it addresses.
2. Is purposeful? In a way, sure. This poem/song is an excerpt from Shakespeare's famous comedy, Twelfth Night. Therefore, its purpose is to progress the plot. The poem may also make its readers (who are in love) to get sentimental and sappy.
3. Responds to and creates more or less obvious social concerns? I don't think so, not really. Although the scene surrounding the poem and how it comes about, may create a social concern (social drinking, carousing, and disrespect).
4. Relies on verbal and nonverbal symbols? Since this is a poem, I'm going to say it relies on the verbal all the way. Here verbal can go even further than just words; it can be attributed to the pace and rhythm of the poem itself. However, this is not one of Shakespeare's famous sonnets; they have 14 lines and this has 12.
5. Shapes the way people think, act, believe, and feel? This poem could very well influence any one of these examples. After all, it is a poem about falling in love and taking the leap. Good.
"The Passionate Shepard to His Love"
- Who is/are the implied rhetor/s? the author, Christopher Marlowe
- Who seems to be the intended audience? (same as above) writers, readers, English majors, teachers, lovers--anyone really. ! Be a little careful here to not skim over a consideration of the implied audience: this is the audience who is implied in the poem - not those who happen to read it 400 yrs after it was written. Audiences are rarely "same as above." Approach each work as its own.
- What is the apparent purpose of the message? Once again a poem of wooing. The suitor goes into great detail when promising what their lives could be like if she would just love him too.
- How do you know? The entire poem is a promise. " . . . will I make thee beds of roses." and " . . . buckles of the purest gold."
5 Charateristics
1. Typically addresses public audiences? Yes. It is a published poem that is also famous or well-known.
2. Is purposeful? Sure. It words could be used as an aid to wooing a potential mate.
3. Responds to and creates more or less obvious social concerns? I don't think so. Although, if you read the poem closely, the latter things the suitor promises his love bespeak a modicum of wealth. A Shepard would not have the means to make good on those particular promises.
4. Relies on verbal and nonverbal symbols? Once again, since this is a poem, I'm going to say it relies on the verbal all the way. Verbal also would include the rhythm and pace, also (regular iambic tetrameter).
5. Shapes the way people think, act, believe, and feel? I have the same answer as with the first poem, in that it could very well influence any one of these examples. After all, it is a poem about falling in love and taking the leap. Again: look more closely at the work, implied audience, implied rhetor: Make finer distinctions here and you'll bring out the finer distinctions in how the object works rhetorically.
"Paper Planes"
- Who is/are the implied rhetor/s? M.I.A, musicians, director of the video, and inadvertently, The Clash Well seen, although I don't think that's inadvertent. The Clash were very intentionally sampled and the song built on that section sampled. Sort of the way Marlow and Shakespeare and Donne and the rest of them sampled each other in their sonnets.
- Who seems to be the intended audience? Fans of this particular genre of music, fans of M.I.A, and of The Clash. Also, upper and middle class A-typicals. Not really. It's easy to confuse the marketing sense of audience (who are you trying to sell to) with the intended or implied audience. The implied audience is the specific audience constructed by the video. TO get to this audience, consider what the view needs to know.
- What is the apparent purpose of the message? A satire of immigration and the stereotypes that go along with it.
- How do you know? At first, I honestly wasn't sure, but then I searched Youtube (your link is broken btw This is a wiki: fix what you find broken. Add to what you find incomplete.) for "Straight to Hell" and as soon as I heard the intro to the song, I got a clue that the two songs were connected in some way. Also, by watching the two videos, I began to see a parallel. It's also there in M.I.A.'s lyrics: "If you catch me at the border, I've got visas in my name."
5 Charateristics
1. Typically addresses public audiences? Yes. Anyone who listens to music, music critics, radio play. You're missing a valuable moment to consider what audiences are about here.
2. Is purposeful? Very. Not only with her lyrics but also with what's going on in the video. It's portraying an immigrants life in America (the shittier side) and their Okay with that. Interesting. So, what's the purpose in the as you read it? To change the situation? To get others to change the situation? To romanticize the situation?
3. Responds to and creates more or less obvious social concerns? I would say this creates more social concerns. There were a lot of people who were not happy with the sound of gun shots, followed by a ca-ching, during the chorus. Interesting. Who were they? How did they read the video? Are they part of the implied audience? It's also easy to misinterpret what exactly her message is. Some (myself included) may think it's a glorification of breaking the law. I changed my opinion after watching "Straight to Hell". Ah-ha! The video becomes more complex. And it's interesting to note that the audience has access to and can consider one part of its source. Also to note is that the video is created so that the message can be misunderstood. That might be part of its rhetorical purpose -
4. Relies on verbal and nonverbal symbols? Yes. The verbal is the lyrics. The non verbal would be the different scenarios in the video of a day in the life of an immigrant in America. The non-verbal is the video itself, the framing, the lighting, the acts portrayed, the appearance of rap personas in the video, the music itself, that it appears on YouTube, ...
5. Shapes the way people think, act, believe, and feel? Definitely. Immigration is as much a hot topic now (even more so) as it was when this song was put out. Also, some radio stations would bleep out the gun shots when they played her song.
I've tried in my comments to point to aspects that we typically skim over in everyday consideration. Slow down a little, consider that the seemingly obvious isn't going to go very far in rhetorical analysis.
