Rhetoric in Acts 1-2 of The Tempest

This week in English 1302, we read through acts one and two of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Throughout both acts, rhetorical techniques are used by all of the characters. For example, Prospero uses rhetoric when he confronts Ariel, and persuades him to remain loyal because of all of the good deeds he’s done for Ariel. Another example is when Prospero calls his brother “perfidious”  (Shakespeare, The Tempest, I.ii.68). This puts emphasis on the fact that his brother is the “bad guy” and Prospero is the “hero.”

Lent started on Wednesday of this week. Every year, I give up social media, and use the time I would be on social media to do something productive. This year I chose to run at least a mile every day. To make this experience easier, I downloaded an app on my phone to track how far I run. Every day, the app uses the technique of persuasion to send me notifications reminding me to run, as well as motivational quotes to keep me consistent.

This week I experienced rhetoric when I convinced my dad to let me stay at my friend Ryan’s house for 15 extra minutes after the winter formal. All of my other friends were leaving his house at 12:15, but my dad had told me to be home at midnight. Using my persuasive techniques, I was able to convince my dad to let me stay 15 more minutes so that I left at the same time as the rest of my friends.

The above meme pictures me before the winter formal! 😉

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616. The Tempest. Cambridge :Harvard University Press, 1958.

“To Party i Go! – Baby Yoda.” Make a Meme, makeameme.org/meme/to-party-i.