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The Rhetorical Portrayal of Public Servants in British Political Satire

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The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant

Abstract

This chapter presents a rhetorical analysis of British political satire using the Aristotelian modes of persuasion vis-à-vis ethos, pathos, and logos. These refer to the credibility, emotion, and logic of how political satirists seek to construct and communicate a message to their audiences. This chapter argues that different types of rhetorical style exist across the case studies (namely, The Thick of It and Private Eye) given their distinct audiences and their expectations. Ultimately, by employing this theoretical approach, the chapter concludes that British political satire is an active participant in the political process rather than an objective observer that can fashion political opinions and affect the quality of political discourse in British politics.

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Correspondence to Andrew S. Roe-Crines .

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Roe-Crines, A.S. (2020). The Rhetorical Portrayal of Public Servants in British Political Satire. In: Sullivan, H., Dickinson, H., Henderson, H. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03008-7_53-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03008-7_53-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-03008-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-03008-7

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