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GEORGE:
Close your eyes and stand with me in Stratford-upon-Avon—an English market town of roughly fifteen hundred souls, ringed by fields, sheep, mud, and gossip.

No phones. No streetlights. No “I’ll do it tomorrow” the way we mean it.

And today, we’re not going to London. We’re not going to the Globe.
We’re going to spend one ordinary day in Stratford—
and watch how an ordinary day can build an extraordinary mind.

SFX: Footsteps on packed earth. A door opens.

GEORGE (calling):
Master Shakespeare! Are you awake?

MASTER SHAKESPEARE:
Awake? I have been up this hour and more. A house with many bodies does not sleep late—even when it wishes to.

GEORGE:
Set the scene for us. Where are we?

MASTER SHAKESPEARE:
Henley Street. My father’s house—our house—
and also his work. For the home and the shop are stitched together, like lining to leather.

GEORGE:
So you’re growing up… in a business.

MASTER SHAKESPEARE:
A trade, sir. Gloves, leatherwork—tanned hides, cutting, shaping, selling. And you learn early that a town is not made of poetry.
It is made of work.

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Welcome to celebrate creativity - and this series is Conversations with Shakespeare. Rhetorical triangle - part two

In the previous podcast we talked about the three central parts of a rhetorical triangle - think of the rock group ELP or Emerson Lake and Palmer from the 70s and you have E for ethos P and L for logos. Hope you've got that down

Now the three aspects of rhetoric shown on the sides of the triangle are: -and stay with me

Purpose
Purpose is the author's reason for the argument or statement. It is used to connect ethos and pathos. The author or speaker's purpose typically reflects personal or societal circumstances. Three common persuasive purposes are to assert, effect change or negotiate. Again, using the vaccine conspiracy theory as a model - the purpose - always unstated - is to divide and cause unrest.

Tone
Tone is the overall attitude and approach the author has in conveying their argument. It connects ethos to logos. Word choice is the main vehicle for establishing tone. Some common examples of tone in persuasive writing include complimentary, nostalgic or ironic. Saying a law is wrong and saying that same law is inequitable might mean the same thing - but the words wrong and inequitable are generally used with different audiences that you want to reach.

Style
Style is the method that the author or speaker uses to convey their message to the audience. It connects logos and pathos. Style usually describes the order of ideas. When we get into rhetorical devices, you will see how those devices can determine the style of the words used to persuade. An author's choice in delivery method — whether that be a written essay, a speech or a fictional story — is also a part of style.

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I have decided to call a slight halt to episodes regarding Shakespeare's initial exposure to rhetorical devices for several reasons. I wanted to concentrate on a few of the major rhetorical devices, and I have done so in the past few episodes. And I certainly will talk about some of the rhetorical devices that were most important to Shakespeare during future episodes. And no, this is not the last time that I will mention rhetorical devices.

But ultimately, the “number” of rhetorical devices isn’t like the number of planets. It depends on how finely you slice the pie.

How many rhetorical devices are there?

Well, At least hundreds show up across handbooks.

If you include every named sub-type, variant, and overlapping term across centuries and languages, you’re in the realm of many hundreds to well over a thousand.

That range isn’t because anyone is sloppy—it’s because rhetoric is a naming tradition, not a fixed periodic table.
And there are many reasons there are “so many”: fine divisions and overlapping names. There is no doubt that Shakespeare had to learn hundreds of rhetorical devices, but I do think we've covered the main ones.

Now there are many ways to explain why there are so many:

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Tonight’s device is one I love because it feels human.

It’s called aporia.

GEORGE:
Master Shakespeare, I’m going to pronounce it and then stare at you like a student: uh-PORE-ee-uh.

SHAKESPEARE (approving):
Aye. A word that already sounds uncertain—fit for its purpose.

GEORGE:
Listeners—plain definition:

Aporia is when a speaker expresses doubt or uncertainty—real or performed—often as a way to think out loud, invite the audience in, or make a point feel more honest.

In other words: “I’m not sure… but let’s consider this.”

SHAKESPEARE:
Aye. Doubt as a doorway.

GEORGE:
Now—because I promised repetition and accomplishment—

Pop Quiz Corner (10 seconds):
Which one is aporia?

A) “This is definitely the right answer.”
B) “I’m not sure what the right answer is… but let’s look at it together.”

SHAKESPEARE (dry):
If they choose A, they may apply for a job in politics.

GEORGE:
Yes — B. The doubt is the device.

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SHAKESPEARE:
Aye. The mind loves threes.
Beginning, middle, end.
Birth, life, death.
Knock, knock, knock.

GEORGE:
I knew you’d do that—three examples to explain the “rule of three.”

SHAKESPEARE:
Would you have me offer four? That way lies chaos.

GEORGE:
So why does three work so well? What’s the magic?

SHAKESPEARE:
Because one is a point.
Two is a choice.
Three is a pattern.

GEORGE:
That is… annoyingly perfect.

SHAKESPEARE:
I have practiced.

GEORGE:
Okay—if someone’s never heard the term tricolon, they’ve still heard the sound of it. It shows up in speeches, prayers, comedy, slogans… and in your plays.

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GEORGE:
All right, for the listener who doesn’t want a grammar lecture: antithesis is when you place two opposing ideas side by side—often in a balanced structure—so the contrast hits hard.
Like: light and darkness, love and hate, life and death.
Well let me see let's say give me a famous example one that listeners will recognize
SHAKESPEARE:
Aye. Two wrestlers in one ring. The mind loves a contest.

GEORGE:
Now—here’s my big question. Why does antithesis feel so Shakespearean? It’s everywhere.

SHAKESPEARE:
Because men are everywhere divided.
We want, and we fear.
We swear, and we doubt.
We praise, and we wound.
Antithesis is not merely a device—’tis a mirror.

GEORGE:
So it’s not decoration. It’s psychology.

SHAKESPEARE:
Now you speak sense.

GEORGE:
Okay, give me a famous example—one that listeners will recognize even if they’ve only survived Shakespeare in high school.

SHAKESPEARE:
Then we go to Verona, where passion runs faster than wisdom.

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GEORGE:
Master Shakespeare, are you with us?

SHAKESPEARE (warm, amused):
Indeed, sir. I am ever at your elbow—though I confess, your age is wondrous. In mine own day, men grew old chiefly by avoiding theaters.

GEORGE:
Ha! We’ll take the win where we can.
All right—anaphora. I’m going to pronounce it slowly so I don’t embarrass myself: a-NA-pho-ra.

SHAKESPEARE:
A fair stumbling, sweetly done. And what think you it means?

GEORGE:
Here’s my best “general adult” definition: anaphora is when you repeat the same word or phrase at the beginning of a line or sentence—and that repetition builds rhythm, emphasis, and emotional force.

SHAKESPEARE:
Aye. Like a drumbeat that gathers soldiers—or gathers tears.

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GEORGE (to mic, playful):
All right. Confession
Some people hear the phrase “rhetorical devices” and immediately reach for the nearest exit sign.
But over the years I have learned that rhetorical devices are not decorations. They’re not lace on the edge of language.
They’re engines.
They’re how a speaker makes an audience feel the truth—
even when the truth is… being negotiated.
And Shakespeare? Shakespeare wasn’t born with a quill in his hand.
He was trained.
Today we walk into the rhetoric gym.

GEORGE:
And we’re going to meet the young Shakespeare as he learns the craft of making words do things.

But first

GEORGE:
This is Celebrate Creativity. I’m George Bartley.

This series blends historical research with fiction and imagined conversations. Not a documentary, not advice.

Today: the schooling that made Shakespeare’s language possible—and how those rhetorical “moves” show up in the plays like fingerprints.

Now Picture it: a grammar school. from at least six o'clock in the morning to 6 o'clock at night Monday through Saturday. Repetition that drills itself into the mind.

Latin. Translation. Memorization. Imitation.
Not because the world is kind, but because the world is competitive.
A boy learns to hold language in his mouth like a tool—and to sharpen it.

GEORGE:
Master Shakespeare—be honest. Was Learning about rhetoric miserable?

SHAKESPEARE (pleasant, sardonic):
It was character-building.

GEORGE:
That’s what people say when it was miserable.

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