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Rhetorical Strategies In Saint Joan, By George Bernard Shaw

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Freedom of thinking, a different way of seeing things can be hard for some. In George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan, the Inquisitor gives a powerful speech, which demonizes Joan and her heresy. The Inquisitor uses his speech to persuade the church of Joan of the arc’s heresy. In his entreaty, he uses many rhetorical strategies such as ethos, pathos, and logos. He even uses similes and analogies to make his case. The Inquisitor keeps an intense and serious tone throughout the speech, while the situation being a grave one. He makes the plea a dying matter as if Joan killed someone. The Inquisitor begins his plea with a grave tone and starting the rhetorical appeal of ethos to legitimize his view of the grave matter. In lines 1-5 he states “If you had seen what I have seen of heresy, you would not think it a light thing even in its most apparently harmless and even lovable and pious origins.”. Validating that he has dealt with heresy in a great matter, the Inquisitor hasn't seen this only once though, he states again in line 16 “I have seen this again and again”. He gives the audience the appeal to ethos, the audience now can believe what he is talking about because of his experience. He has now led the audience to be able to trust him. Now the Inquisitor, in his prestigious position, begins to persuade the audience with the horrors and legit wickedness of heresy. In lines 17-27 he gives a great deal of pathos and some aggressive diction, he expresses “Heresy ... ends

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