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Dramatic Irony
Definition of Ethos
Ethos, along with logos and pathos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Ethos is an argument that appeals to... read full definition
Ethos, along with logos and pathos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Ethos is... read full definition
Ethos, along with logos and pathos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective... read full definition
Act 1, Scene 5
Explanation and Analysis—Think'st Me Devilish:
The Queen requests that Cornelius, a court physician, bring her some powerful drugs and chemicals. When he warns her that the “poisonous compounds” he has brought her are lethal and asks her what she wants them for, she employs ethos in her response, highlighting her own authority as an advanced student of such chemicals, a virtuous woman, and a Queen:
I wonder, doctor,
Thou ask’st me such a question. Have I not been
Thy pupil long? Hast thou not learned me how
To make perfumes, distil, preserve—yea, so
That our great king himself doth woo me oft
For my confections? Having thus far proceeded,
Unless thou think’st me devilish, is ’t not meet
That I did amplify my judgment in
Other conclusions? I will try the forces
Of these thy compounds on such creatures as
We count not worth the hanging—but none human—
To try the vigor of them and apply
Allayments to their act [...]
The Queen’s frosty response shows that she is insulted by his impertinence in asking her such a question. Arguing that she is qualified to handle such dangerous ingredients, she employs ethos, first emphasizing her experience in making perfumes, alcohol, and preserves under Cornelius’s own instruction. Next, she notes that she has gained such a high degree of competence that the King himself begs her to gift him the “confections” that she creates. Finally, she reminds Cornelius that he has no reason to think of her as “devilish” and that it is an insult to her virtue for him to question her in this manner. The Queen, then, employs ethos, or an appeal to her own authority, in making an argument for her right to experiment with poisonous materials.
Related Themes:
