Aragorn, King of Rhetoric

A huge fan of The Lord of the Rings trilogy-- I believe they are one of the most epic trilogies written in the past century.

Written by J.R.R Tolkein and published in the 1950’s, more than 150 million copies of the epic high fantasy trilogy have been sold¹. In 2001, the trilogy was adapted for film. The productions became highly successful and won 11 Oscars, including “Best Picture”, “Best Original Score”, and “Best Adapted Screenplay”.

In one of the last scenes of the third and final film of the series, Aragorn, King of Gondor, and his army stand facing the gates of Mordor, from which thousands of orcs (in this case the bad guys) are marching toward Aragorn and his visibly frightened army. The sheer size of the enemy is foreboding. With the use of rhetoric, King Aragorn delivers a compelling speech to counter the intimidating enemy and encourage his terrified army.

Aragorn is a king who has fought valiantly at a number of momentous battles, including the battle of Helm’s Deep and of Minas Tirith, each consisting of thousands of deaths at the price of defending the world of men. At these Aragorn exhibited his leadership and bravery. Standing before his men at the gates of Mordor, King Aragon thus exudes great ethos. If ever there was a perfect man to deliver an inspiration al speech to these frightened soldiers, Aragorn was certainly the man.

He begins his address by saying:

“Sons of Gondor! Of Rohan! My brothers!”

By referring to the soldiers as “my brothers”, King Aragorn puts himself, despite his incredible ethos, on their level. This makes it easier for Aragorn to relate to his audience. They are all sons, all brothers. He and his army are in this foreboding battle together, not as King and his soldiers, but as those standing together to defend the world of men.

Aragorn continues his efforts to rhetorically gain the army’s approval saying, “I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me.” It seems as if Aragorn is trying to prove that he, like his soldiers, is simply a mortal scared for his life. Here he conveys that he understands the fears of this army but is willing to fight despite them. Having related to his audience, Aragorn implies that, despite initial doubts, they are capable of gathering the courage to fight valiantly and succeed, just as he has in the past.

Having related to his audience and instilled in them the idea that they are capable of doing the far-fetched, Aragorn continues his rhetoric with pathos.

“By all that you hold dear on this good Earth…”

Aragorn is reminding them that more than their lives are at stake with this battle—losing the fight could mean the destruction of the world of men and everything they hold dear. Here, Aragorn is appealing to their fears, emotionally engaging his audience.

Finally, Aragorn uses exigence— calling his army to action.

“I bid you STAND, men of the West!”

King Aragorn has established himself and related to his audience through ethos, appealed to their fears and thus involving them emotionally, and finally he calls them to action, or to fight against the oncoming enemy. In this scene a problem has been presented and Aragorn is calling upon his audience, the army, to act upon it.

Quickly being approached by thousands of orcs, the odds may have seemed unfavorable for the army, but thanks to King Aragorn’s use of rhetoric, the men recovered their courage to fight. The ensuing scenes are a testament to Aragorn’s effective use of rhetoric. And, although Aragon did use rhetoric effectively, in my opinion it also helped that there was inspirational music playing for him in the background.

¹ http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=5007234