"Wilberforce 1789 abolition speech"

Question

by William Wilberforce

The number of deaths speaks for itself, and makes all such enquiry superfluous. As soon as ever I had arrived thus far in my investigation of the slave trade, I confess to you sir, so enormous so dreadful, so irremediable did its wickedness appear that my own mind was completely made up for the abolition.

William Wilberforce's 1789 Abolition Speech

Question
Use the speech excerpt to answer the question.

Which rhetorical strategy does the paragraph use to appeal to readers?

(1 point)
Responses

pathos
pathos

logos
logos

ethos
ethos

persuasion
persuasion

Answer 1

The rhetorical strategy used in the excerpt from William Wilberforce's 1789 abolition speech is pathos. This is because the emotional weight of the "number of deaths" and the description of the slave trade as "enormous," "dreadful," and "irremediable" evoke strong feelings of compassion and horror in the readers, appealing to their emotions.