"Birmingham Jail" Rhetorical Devices, Relative Clauses

"Birmingham Jail" Rhetorical Devices, Relative Clauses

p. 289 and p. 291 in MyPerspectives

POINTS

• Identify and analyze antithesis, allusion, and rhetorical question in "Letter from Birmingham Jail"

• Identify relative clauses

Multiple Choice

Which rhetorical devices did we talk about last week when we read "I Have a Dream"?

• charged language, parallelism, repetition, analogy

• onomatopoeia, simile, metaphor, allusion

Remember...

Rhetorical devices are strategies to help convince the reader/listener that what the author is saying is right.

This week's rhetorical devices:

• Antithesis = a form of parallelism that emphasizes strong contrasts (For instance, "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.")

• Allusion = a brief, unexplained reference to a well-known person, historical event, organization, literary work , or place (For instance, "We all got the feeling that we were not in Kansas anymore." This is an allusion to a line from The Wizard of Oz.)

• Rhetorical Question = a question asked to make a point rather than to get an answer (For instance, "When something good happens, are we happy?")

Open Ended

What device were you looking for? What is your example from "Letter from Birmingham Jail"?

Open Ended

Independent Practice: This letter is widely considered a powerful defense of nonviolent protest. Do you think it deserves this recognition? Support your answer with evidence and analysis of the rhetorical devices Dr. King uses.

POINTS

• Identify and analyze antithesis, allusion, and rhetorical question in "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (done!)

• Identify relative clauses

Relative Clauses p. 291

• Clause = group of words that includes a subject and a verb

• Relative clause = clause that modifies a noun or pronoun by telling which kind or which one (it describes a noun or pronoun)

• Relative clauses usually begin with a relative pronoun (like "that," "which," "who," "whom," or "whose.")

Relative Clauses

• "The month that has 28 days is February." (modifies "month," telling which one/which month)

• "The dinner, which includes dessert, is not expensive." (modifies "dinner", telling what kind/what kind of dinner)

• "This is the player who broke the record." (modifies "player," telling which one/which player)

• "THe next-door neighbor whom my sister has known since college is named Mario." (modifies "neighbor," telling which one/which neighbor)

• "The senator whose opinion was in question spoke to the press." (modifies "senator," telling which one/which senator)

Open Ended

Independent Practice: Add a relative clause to the sentence "Segregation is an injustice." (Remember: "that," "which," "who," "whom," or "whose" are great ways to start a relative clause.)

Open Ended

Independent Practice: Add a relative clause to the sentence "Some church leaders stood up against discrimination." (Remember: "that," "which," "who," "whom," or "whose" are great ways to start a relative clause.)

POINTS

• Identify and analyze antithesis, allusion, and rhetorical question in "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (done!)

• Identify relative clauses (done!)