Duggan 1 Patrick Duggan English 137H October 10, 2013 Rhetorical Analysis Essay The Scottish rebels assembled

on the battlefield at Stirling Bridge and stood facing the worlds most powerful English army. They were largely outnumbered, had few horses, and carried wooden spears. Through the doubt and fear that disseminated throughout the ranks emerged a man on horseback. He was short in stature and at first seemed no different from the other men. A stillness fell over the ranks, as the soldiers stood waiting for him to speak. The scene that ensues is one of the most famous segments from the movie Braveheart and also is an example of a rhetorical speech. The man on horseback is in fact William Wallace, no ordinary man, who is faced with the challenge of convincing a whole army of Scottish rebels to stop their retreat from the battlefield at Stirling Bridge. The speech is short but Wallace effectively uses rhetoric to persuade the audience to take action through appeals to ethos and pathos, his own physical appearance and actions, and the effective use of kairos. Using these key elements, he is ultimately able to inspire the men to fight valiantly and win their freedom. As Wallace begins his speech, his objective is readily evident to the audience. It is an example of a persuasive argument in which his primary purpose is to convince the Scottish rebels to remain on the battlefield and demand their freedom from English rule. The Scottish revolutionaries are therefore his intended audience. The occasion for argument shifts from epideictic in the beginning to deliberative towards the end. This shift occurs as he moves from an argument in the present to one concerned with the future, or from his immediate call to action to his projection of what life would be like without freedom. Wallaces speech is spontaneous and

Duggan 2 unplanned, as he has no intention of addressing the army upon his arrival. However, when he sees the men leaving, he questions them and asks, Will you fight? A soldier responds by saying, Fight against that? No, we will run, and we will live. After this Wallace begins his speech, using several different aspects of rhetoric to convince the Scots that fighting for their freedom is more valuable than even their own lives. The first thing that Wallace does is appeal to ethos. If he hopes for the Scots to risk their lives for his cause he must establish his reputation as a strong leader. This task is easier for Wallace because he is already well known. He emerged as a leader in the forefront of the Scottish resistance months prior to Stirling Bridge and had become somewhat of a folklore legend. When introducing himself Wallace proclaims, I am William Wallace. Though only a sentence long, this introduction is enough to establish his credibility as someone in a position of authority. The soldiers knew of Wallace, knew of his incredible feats, and had great respect for him as both a man and a soldier. He has no need to explain his motives to the army because he is already known to be an advocate for Scottish freedom. The four words that Wallace uses are simple and may seem insignificant, but carry the power to establish him as a strong and trustworthy leader. While exhibiting the characteristics of a firm and dependable leader is very important, Wallace focuses the remainder of his speech primarily on the infantrys many emotions, or pathos. After establishing himself as William Wallace, he is immediately questioned as one man yells, William Wallace is seven feet tall! Wallace, who is much higher in authorit y than the man, had a few options. He could have ignored him, yelled at him, or ridiculed him, but instead he uses humor to establish a personal connection with the army and put the men at ease. He mocks himself by acknowledging all the wildly imagined stories that have been told about him.

Duggan 3 Yes Ive heard. Kills men by the hundreds, and if he were here hed consume the English with fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from his ass! The Scottish soldiers, who are staring down the swords of thousands of English soldiers, are able to momentarily forget about the current situation and laugh with Wallace. Wallace also stirs the audiences emotions by carefully choosing his diction. First, he addresses his soldiers as, Sons of Scotland. He could have said anything else but chose these words to establish a mother-to-son relationship between the men and Scotland. As sons, the men realize that they would readily give their life for the safety of their mother, so Wallace is calling them to protect their country, or motherland, and free it from the hands of English rulers. Next, he says, I see before me an army of my countrymen here in defiance of tyranny. His choice of my countrymen provides another personal connection with the army. Wallace, whose credentials are greater than those of any other soldier on the battlefield, classifies himself on the same level as all his fellow soldiers. He is portraying himself as a man who lives a simple life in a cottage in the countryside, no different from anyone else. The following phrase in defiance of tyranny, also is unique as it arouses an emotional response. By categorizing the English occupation of Scotland as tyranny, Wallace is suggesting that the English government is cruel and oppressive. The negative connotation that tyranny carries is more likely to evoke anger and hatred from the men and lead them to take action. The final part of Wallaces speech makes a direct emotional appeal to freedom. Proclaiming the men to be free men leads to the question of why they are allowing the English to control them. Wallace is hoping to create a burning desire for freedom in the men that will convince them that dying for the cause of freedom is worthwhile. He uses this thought of freedom and begins to question the men about how much they are willing to give to achieve it.

Duggan 4 Would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but theyll never take our freedom! This line and the lines prior to this force the men to reflect on what it would be like to live their lives in bondage under the rule of England. Wallace is making a deliberative argument in which the men must decide the course of action that will result in the best future. The final words that Wallace leaves for the men are short but evoke the greatest emotional response of all. Alba gu brth, or Scotland forever! Wallace and the men chant this phrase in unison as they are united in their loyalty to Scotland. Scotland is their home that has been under the siege of a foreign government and Wallaces rhetoric has convinced them that united, they can gain their freedom. In addition to using strong words that evoke emotional responses, Wallace also uses his actions and appearance to make his argument more persuasive. Wallace arrives at the battle on horseback while most of the soldiers are on foot. Sitting on the horse, Wallace towers over the men, which establishes a sense of authority and respect. The men immediately recognize Wallace as a man of high honor. His outfit also plays a major role in connecting on a personal level with the men. He is wearing the traditional Scottish kilt, dull colors, and has his face painted. The traditional outfit aids him in associating himself as one of their fellow countrymen despite his numerous military accomplishments. He wears the clothes of a farmer and not the armor of a warrior. Finally, the face paint is a symbol of the loyalty to the country of Scotland that every man there shares. Wallace hopes that this loyalty and love for Scotland is enough to convince them to fight alongside him with honor. The final key that enables Wallaces rhetoric to be effective is the time that he chose to deliver it. The English had ruled over Scotland for all of Wallaces life. They burned villages,

Duggan 5 killed women and children, and stole goods, yet Wallace waited until he was a middle-aged man to give this speech on freedom. This is because he was waiting for what is called kairos. Wallace did not give the speech earlier because the men were against going to war with England. They feared the English army and had no desire to die for what they considered to be a hopeless cause. If he waited any longer, however, the men would have left the battlefield and been subject to English rule for many years to come. The exigence, or immediate cause of the speech, that spurrs Wallace into action was the mens desire to return home and avoid death. Realizing that they were already on the battlefield, armed, and ready to fight, Wallace seizes the opportunity to make his argument that they must fight for their freedom. In the end, his powerful words and good timing changes their minds and persuades them fight despite the odds against them. Convincing someone to risk his or her own life for a cause is no easy task. The Scottish army could have left Stirling Bridge that day and returned home and continued to live the only way they had ever known: under English rule. William Wallace understood the challenge that he was facing and used rhetoric to persuade the army to remain at the battlefield and fight for the freedom they had never had but had always wanted. His use of appeals to ethos and pathos, appearance, and understanding of seizing the ideal moment enabled him to put forth a convincing argument. His words carried the power to persuade the men to put aside their misgivings, rally behind him, and begin their quest towards freedom. Alba gu brth!