Socrates Rhetorical Analysis

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When Socrates was on trial and facing the death penalty, he used this opportunity to continue his teaching of philosophy. He did not intend for his defense to win him an acquittal (Apology). Instead he meant to use his skill of speaking ironically to make his accusers look like fools and their accusations absurd. Socrates was exposing the lack of wisdom that they claimed to have and that the only reason he was appearing in court was because they did not like to be told they were wrong in their way of thinking. This is evident in the beginning of his defense and in his cross-examinations. At the start of his defense, Socrates used irony when he said that he was not an intelligent speaker when actually he was very good at public speaking (Apology). I think that by saying he would speak plainly, he did this to show that the lies that were told about him were embellished by his accusers. Socrates wanted the jurors to dismiss the exaggeration of the lies told of him and to only hear the truth.…show more content…
He seemed to be admitting ignorance as to who these people were. Meletus responded that everyone improved the youth, with the exception of Socrates (Apology). Socrates was happy to hear that he was the youth's only corrupter (Apology). By making the impression that Meletus was right in thinking that Socrates was the only evil-doer, he made clear the fact that Meletus' thinking on this was flawed. Meletus had to be a fool in thinking that every other person was a good-doer, and that Socrates was the only
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