Journal 3 - Hannah Shapiro

For Project 1 I am addressing the term “audience” through the different audiences of various adaptations of Romeo and Juliet across generations. My first artifact is that play itself. In its entirety, I think this composition teaches so much about the depth and vigor rhetoric provides to a piece of writing; it is a perfect example of “there is more than just the words on a page,” or in this case, words on a stage. When originally performed, the play was much different than when it is performed nowadays. I think the different in audience structure is a great way to define audience, and how it has changed over the years; ultimately, helping define rhetoric. My second artifact is Taylor Swift’s song “Love Story.” The lyrics encompass the story of Romeo and Juliet very well, and even use their names. The music video shows Taylor as “Juliet.” However, her song does end much happier than the original story by William Shakespeare. My final artifact is the Twilight Saga, commonly understood as an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. I think this teaches a lot about how rhetoric is up for interpretation, how rhetorical situations are usurped by exigency, and how persuasion can change lives.

            Most poignantly, I think the trend of persuasion and adaptations are evident in all artifacts being presented in Project 1. They are all very different, but they all show how rhetoric is in every aspect of life; that being physical objects, the written word, technology, and so on.

            In my own personal opinion, I think circulations, design, and material affordances all have an equally important role in the extension of rhetoric. Circulation and material affordances sort of go hand in hand. We must have the correct materials to circulate knowledge. For example, when the printing press was created, that was the first time the written word, rhetoric in its written form, could be spread all around the world with ease. As time went on, the rhetoric became more intense with the role of design in books, on websites, and in every day life. It seems silly that physical objects, say a mail truck, could have aspects of rhetoric, but as I’ve learned through Edbauer, Wysocki, and Gladwell, rhetoric is everywhere and in everything.