Rhetorical Devices in A Room of One’s Own Virginia Woolf’s work is admired, despised, and loved, but above all, it is remembered as a bold expression to empower women and persuade the world about the potential women possess. A Room of One’s Own was originally lectures Woolf presented to two women colleges that she later compiled into an essay and published in 1929. As the colleges asked her to speak about the topic of women and fiction, she was lead to examine themes such as feminism and anti-war. This feministic work of inspiration is shaped by a plethora of rhetorical devices including ethos, persona, characters, epigraphs, and symbols.
The use of ethos, persona, and characters not only exemplifies Woolf’s ingenuity as a writer, but also …show more content…
For example, she uses the following poem lyrics from Christina Rossetti: “My heart is gladder than all these/ Because my love is come to me” (Woolf 14). Woolf explains this is an example of the hopeful, romantic love captured by poets and writers before World War I that no longer exists. She writes in irony, “Shall we lay blame on the war? … Why, if it [the war] was an illusion, not praise the catastrophe, whatever it was, that destroyed illusion and put truth in its place?” (Woolf 15). Here, Woolf expresses her anti-war theme and states that the war was not an illusion at all but rather the catastrophe that caused a change in the once loving tone throughout the world. Additionally, she blames the war for killing romance and struggles to accept the truth that thousands of loved ones are dead. Rossetti’s poem is one of several epigraphs that provide support and validation to Woolf’s work and …show more content…
The previously mentioned rhetorical devices demonstrate her creativity, ingenuity, and strongly supported ideas. Despite this, her style is informal as she frequently and suddenly disrupts her thoughts with trivial additions that disturb the flow of the work. Additionally, certain aspects of the work are disorganized and lacking in cohesiveness. These weaknesses should not distract from her passion to inspire her audience with precise diction and a compassionate tone. This is exemplified when she writes, “So that when I ask you to earn money and have a room of your own, I am asking you to live in the presence of reality, an invigorating life, it would appear, whether one can impart it or not” (Woolf 121). Woolf references her famous symbols again in her final call to action, therefore asking her audience to live in a reality they create for themselves without imposed limitations. She goes on to say one deserves an exciting, strong, healthy life of freedom whether one can express themselves through writing or not. Therefore, Woolf’s strong themes, tone, ideas, and diction outweigh her informal and incohesive
The use of ethos, persona, and characters not only exemplifies Woolf’s ingenuity as a writer, but also …show more content…
For example, she uses the following poem lyrics from Christina Rossetti: “My heart is gladder than all these/ Because my love is come to me” (Woolf 14). Woolf explains this is an example of the hopeful, romantic love captured by poets and writers before World War I that no longer exists. She writes in irony, “Shall we lay blame on the war? … Why, if it [the war] was an illusion, not praise the catastrophe, whatever it was, that destroyed illusion and put truth in its place?” (Woolf 15). Here, Woolf expresses her anti-war theme and states that the war was not an illusion at all but rather the catastrophe that caused a change in the once loving tone throughout the world. Additionally, she blames the war for killing romance and struggles to accept the truth that thousands of loved ones are dead. Rossetti’s poem is one of several epigraphs that provide support and validation to Woolf’s work and …show more content…
The previously mentioned rhetorical devices demonstrate her creativity, ingenuity, and strongly supported ideas. Despite this, her style is informal as she frequently and suddenly disrupts her thoughts with trivial additions that disturb the flow of the work. Additionally, certain aspects of the work are disorganized and lacking in cohesiveness. These weaknesses should not distract from her passion to inspire her audience with precise diction and a compassionate tone. This is exemplified when she writes, “So that when I ask you to earn money and have a room of your own, I am asking you to live in the presence of reality, an invigorating life, it would appear, whether one can impart it or not” (Woolf 121). Woolf references her famous symbols again in her final call to action, therefore asking her audience to live in a reality they create for themselves without imposed limitations. She goes on to say one deserves an exciting, strong, healthy life of freedom whether one can express themselves through writing or not. Therefore, Woolf’s strong themes, tone, ideas, and diction outweigh her informal and incohesive