Rhetorical Analysis Essay: Evidence Selection and Commentary

Introduction

• Speaker: Dawn Knight, English teacher at Westfield High School, Indiana.
• Focus: Rhetorical analysis essay on Mary Oliver's "Owls" with emphasis on evidence selection and commentary.
• Reminder: Download the passage and prompt for reference.

Thesis Statement Recap

• Previous focus: Analyzing rhetorical choices for thesis statements.
• Current focus: Selecting evidence and providing insightful commentary.
• Example Thesis: "Mary Oliver uses imagery and paradox to convey her message that her relationship with nature is complex. She both reveres and fears it."

Evidence Selection

• Objective: Align evidence with the thesis by illustrating imagery or paradox.

• Body Paragraph 1 (Imagery):

  • Example 1: "The screech owl... luminous wanderer, the snowy owl." (Imagery present, lacks complexity of relationship)
  • Example 2: "The headless bodies of rabbits... the great horned owl." (Imagery present, lacks complexity)
  • Example 3: "The great horned I can't imagine in any such proximity... I must fall." (Effective imagery showing complex relationship)

• Body Paragraph 2 (Paradox):

  • Example 1: "Each flower is small and lovely... an immutable force." (Paradox present, lacks complexity)
  • Example 2: "Red and pink and white tents of softness and nectar." (Imagery without paradox or complexity)
  • Example 3: "I drop to the sand... immobilizing happiness. And is this not also terrible?" (Paradox showing complex relationship)

Commentary

• Purpose of Commentary: Explain how the evidence supports the thesis and reveals the complexity of Oliver's relationship with nature.

• Strategy: Assume reader hasn't read the passage for comprehensive explanation.

• Example Commentary for Imagery:

  • Oliver uses imagery to contrast beauty and power.
  • Describes beauty using "white gleam of snow owl's feathers."
  • Contrasts with fear of "great horned owl... swift and merciless."
  • Reveals complex relationship by showing admiration and fear.

• Example Commentary for Paradox:

  • Oliver's paradoxical description of happiness as "terrible and frightening."
  • Uses parallelism and rhetorical questions to explore simultaneous joy and fear.
  • Demonstrates how beauty and terror coexist in her view of nature.

Reminders

• Evidence and commentary must align with thesis.
• Focus on how specific rhetorical choices convey the message.

Conclusion

• Encouragement to be kind and review other video resources.