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Motifs
Definition of Pathos
Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Pathos is an argument that appeals to... read full definition
Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective speaking or writing). Pathos is... read full definition
Pathos, along with logos and ethos, is one of the three "modes of persuasion" in rhetoric (the art of effective... read full definition
Act 1, Scene 4
Explanation and Analysis—Witness the Tears:
Isabella, the Queen of England, joins the various English nobles in opposing the return of Gaveston to England from exile. For her, the matter is personal as well as political: the King neglects her in favor of his lover, whom he flaunts before the court. In conversation with Gaveston and Edward, the Queen wields pathos in an attempt to convince the King to treat her with more affection and love:
QUEEN [to GAVESTON]
Villain, ’tis thou that robb’st me of my lord.GAVESTON
Madam, ’tis you that rob me of my lord.EDWARD
Speak not unto her, let her droop and pine.QUEEN
Wherein, my lord, have I deserved these words?
Witness the tears that Isabella sheds,
Witness this heart that, sighing for thee, breaks,
How dear my lord is to poor Isabel.
The Queen first accuses Gaveston of getting between her and her husband, the King, a charge Gaveston does not deny. Instead, he suggests that he is Edward’s true partner, and that it is the Queen who is the interloper. After Edward dismisses her rudely, the Queen attempts to convince him to take her plight more seriously. Here, she uses pathos, emphasizing that she has suffered emotionally due to his neglect. She implores him to “Witness the tears” that she sheds and, likewise, to “Witness this heart” that “breaks” in sighing for him. She ends her short speech by emphasizing “how dear” the King is to “poor Isabel,” by which she means herself. The Queen’s emotional and pathos-filled speech is unsuccessful, as Edward continues to dote upon Gaveston to the exclusion of all else.
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