In ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’, Severus Snape uses logic to convince Death Eaters, but pathos to persuade the heroes.
Category: Rhetoric
Harry Potter & Rhetoric: That’s the House Negro
In ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’, the werewolf Remus Lupin and his Marauder friends make the case for tokenism.
‘Good Eats’ and the Art of Technical Communication
Shannon and Weaver’s Mathematical Theory of Communication says good technical communication reduces noise, but Alton Brown says ‘wankiness’ is good eats.
Harry Potter & Rhetoric: An Encomium of ‘Muggle Dueling’
In ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’, speech is as powerful a persuader as physical force, a lesson learned from Gorgias’s ‘Encomium of Helen’.
Harry Potter & Rhetoric: Remember Cedric Diggory
In ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’, Dumbledore chooses rhetoric as his weapon against evil when he delivers his deliberative eulogy of Cedric Diggory.
How to Write Better Technical Documents
There’s no reason for bad emails, instructions or copy. Better technical documents are easy: Just make your writing simple, consistent, usable and modular.
Harry Potter & Rhetoric: Neither Can Live While the Other Survives
In ‘Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince’, Harry, like Lloyd Bitzer, thinks fate dictates his future actions, but Dumbledore and Richard Vatz disagree.
Harry Potter & Rhetoric: There Is So Much Bullshit
In ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’, Gilderoy Lockhart lies and bullshits, but with Harry Frankfurt’s ‘On Bullshit’ we’ll learn the difference.
Harry Potter & Rhetoric: The Subtle Science and Exact Art of Techne
In ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’, Snape reminds us of Dr Frankenstein through his blending of science, art and ethics.
Context and the Rhetorical Situation
Effective arguing is lost on most these days, but with an understanding of Lloyd Bitzer’s “Rhetorical Situation” you don’t have to be one of them.