Joan Of Arc Rhetorical Devices

In George Bernard Shaw’s play, Saint Joan, the Inquisitor fiercely orates in an attempt to denounce Joan of Arc for her then crime against European society: heresy. The Inquisitor exploits his audience, the French Clerics, through a riveting pathos-oriented speech, to stimulate their deep religious attachment, with elements of ethos to make him appear authoritative, and a vast use of logical fallacies to warp the situation into his hands, like clay on a pottery wheel, Inquisitor ceramics. The successful use of these rhetorical devices molded into a stake, for Joan was condemned to death, by the fire that is his word. That inferno continued to spew as cunning orations in later history continued to sway their audiences that were blind to the …show more content…
The Inquisitor groups her together with the men and women who “may not take regular vows” and “begin with polygamy and end by incest.” Joan quickly goes from a simple protester to a sinner, even by modern means, yet the two actions will rarely ever correlate. Unlikely, since he generalizes her with hasty generalizations as well, but in works magnificently, their minds are harassed with revolting images, Joan is the epitome of that image. Now, not only does the Inquisitor indirectly relate her to indecency, rather than judging her of her actions, he takes it upon himself to describe her as a “liar” and “hypocrite.” Neither of which have none to do with the argument being presented, but to simplify and insult Joan is done far easier than developing a factual case with probable cause, a case that the Inquisitor lacks. It shifts the attention of “What has she actually done?” to “What a horror!” The train of thought is lost.The reason behind his ad hominem attacks on Joan. Further in the essay, he focuses his fallacies onto the court, no longer Joan. “You will see a diabolical pride and natural humility,” he warns, filling his speech, be wary of the girl. Reasonably, Joan has no effect on the French court, she can not allure them in with her “devilish pride” or work into their hearts with “one grain of malice.” One could say she’s harmless, housefly esque, but this scare (tactic) it fulfills all that he has described before. Joan has entered a realm where she cannot escape, she is toxic to society, therefore they must condemn her. When warned of this horrifying act, especially in the timing of the play, she must be punished. The stake has been completed, the