Rhetorical Strategies
What rhetorical appeal is strongest in Viola’s speech as she imagines wooing Olivia?
“Make me a willow cabin at your gate,
And call upon my soul within the house;
Write loyal cantons of contemnèd love
And sing them loud even in the dead of night…”
Pathos: Viola’s language is deeply emotional, using vivid imagery and romantic desperation to stir Olivia’s feelings.
What is thou? Specify subject, object, or possessive.
You (subject)
What doe "Hie thee" mean?
hurry up!
What figure of speech is -- “Make me a willow cabin at your gate…”? Explain it.
Metaphor: Viola compares her devotion to a poetic image of living at Olivia’s gate, without using “like” or “as.”
A willow cabin is a a little hut made from the wood of the tree of sad, unrequited love.
What sound device is this, and what is its effect: “Sit you down, and say your mind in the same box.”
Sibilance, repeated Ss for calming, soothing, or memorable effect
Q2: Which rhetorical device is Viola reflecting on when she questions the ethics of disguise?
“Disguise, I see, thou art a wickedness
Wherein the pregnant enemy does much.
How easy is it for the proper false
In women’s waxen hearts to set their forms!”
Apostrophe: Viola is questioning the trustworthiness of appearances by speaking directly to her disguise, a non-human item.
Thy
Specify subject, object, or possessive.
Your (possessive)
What is Wherefore?
Why
What device is used here: “I am all the daughters of my father’s house, / And all the brothers too"?
Dramatic irony in the form of a riddle: Viola ironically claims to be both daughter and son, revealing her disguise and emotional burden.
The audience knows more than Orsino does, producing dramatic irony.
What sound effect is contained in this line “Diana’s lip is not more smooth and rubious”?
Assonance: The repeated vowel sounds in “smooth” and “rubious” create this effect.
What is the primary rhetorical appeal in this forged letter’s advice to Malvolio?
“Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great,
some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em.
Thy Fates open their hands. Let thy blood and spirit embrace them…”
Logos: The structure of “some are born… some achieve…” appeals to reason and categories, constructing a logical case for Malvolio’s rise in status.
Thee
Specify subject, object, or possessive.
You (object)
What is Ere and how do you pronounce it? Does it rhyme with 🌬 or 👂?
before
🌬
What is “She sat like Patience on a monument…”?
Simile: Viola uses a simile to compare emotional restraint to the stillness of a statue.
What sound effect dominates this line: "By this hand, they are scoundrels and substractors that say so of him. Who are they?"
Sibilance: the repeated s sound
“If this fall into thy hand, revolve. In my stars I am above thee;
but be not afraid of greatness... There is example for’t…”
Ethos: The line “There is example for’t” builds credibility by referencing prior cases of love between people of mismatched social status.
Thine
Specify subject, object, or possessive.
Yours (possessive pronoun) before a word starting with a vowel, like "thine eye" or as a predicate, as in "is it thine?"
What is Ay and how do you pronounce it?
Rhymes with 👁 or 🎭?
Yes
👁
What is “Even so quickly may one catch the plague"?
Metaphor: Olivia referrs to how suddenly she’s fallen for Cesario as a sickness, like a love sickness
What sound device is in here: "I extend my hand to him thus."?
Alliteration: hand to him
What persuasive appeal does Toby use to get Andrew to challenge Cesario to a duel in: "He is knight, dubbed with unhatched rapier and on carpet consideration; but he is a devil in private brawl. Souls and bodies hath he divorced three"?
Pathos: Toby is clearly manipulating emotions—Andrew’s fear (of death) and pride (not wanting to seem weak).
What do
hither, thither, and wither mean?
What about slither?
here, there, and where
🐍 🤣
What does "What ho!"mean?
"what's up?" or "hey there!"
This passage includes the phrase “as it might be,” which sounds like a simile. Why is it not actually a simile?
“My father had a daughter loved a man,
As it might be, perhaps, were I a woman,
I should your lordship.”
Although “as it might be” contains the word “as,” it does not compare two unlike things for figurative effect. Instead, Viola is using a hypothetical situation (a “what if”) to hint at her feelings without revealing her identity — it’s conditional logic, not a simile.
What effect does the rhyming couplet at the end of this speech create?
“Enough; no more.
’Tis not so sweet now as it was before.”
It emphasizes a final or decisive emotional statement.