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A Rhetorical Analysis Of Why Read Shakespeare By Michael Mack

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Literature really is an interesting topic. We constantly build upon the works of those before us and create more things for people to build on. In a way it is an endless cycle of creation where anyone can contribute and I think that's beautiful. Anyway, today I want to speak with all of you about a speech that has come to my attention. It is call "Why Read Shakespeare" by Michael Mack. In his speech he is arguing for the merits of reading Shakespeare, one of the earliest and most influential writers in the English language. As a student, I must admit, reading Shakespeare was never an exciting event or something that I looked forward to. However, in Mack's speech, he makes quite a point for the potential benefits of Shakespeare's work on an …show more content…

From the very beginning of the speech, Mack is already utilizing pathos by addressing the audience and their situation at CUA. By asking questions such as "Why should Shakespeare be [an] interest you seek to develop at CUA?" that are directed solely at his audience, he is appealing to the emotions of his audience that are beginning life at a completely new school. With this he is able to both able to get their attention. Even though I am not enrolled at CUA, as a student, his questions still hit me pretty hard personally as I feel like they can apply to me as well and to any other student or adult at …show more content…

Although there isn't much within the speech to suggest that Mack is utilizing ethos, in actuality, he is using it from the start. The fact that he is an English professor speaking to potential establishes himself as a credible source, and basically tells us pay attention to what he is saying as he is very experienced in the subject. As we continue through the speech, whatever arguments aren't already supported by facts or quotes, he is able to support himself through experience and wisdom. In a way this the the most powerful yet subtle way Michael Mack is able to achieve his goal of convincing students to read

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