1. Explore the rhetoric of artist DanMcCarthy. Analyze these seven paintings and then try to determine if any message exists behind the artist's theme. After articulating what you think the artist is arguing, discuss how he uses rhetoric as a means of persuasion. In your opinion, is his rhetoric effective?
2. Read W.H. Auden's Musee de Beaux Arts.a) What is the argument in this poem? How is that argument enhanced by this painting, which inspired the poet? b) Taken out of context (i.e. the painting the poem was inspired by), does the poem still work? What rhetorical devices make Auden’s argument persuasive?
3. Look over this piece and then discuss what argument the artist is trying to make. Do you think this image has any impact? How did you judge?
4. Examine the rhetoric of this graphic from the British periodical, "The Independent." Do you think its argument is rhetorically powerful? What rhetorical strategies were used in its creation? Could they also be used in writing?
5. Take a close look (enlarge the images) at Hieronymous Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights. It was painted around 1400. Does that surprise you? What things do you see in the images that are unexpected? What is Bosch's argument and how does he make it?
