Music, Rhythm and Persuasion: Hitler’s Oratory
Abstract
Hitler’s oratory was powerful, awesome… As in 1930’s Germany, nowadays, it attracts millions of people around the world. What is the source of this frightening power? How could a man have it? By the Ancient theory of rhythmic prose, this paper studies the importance of rhythm in some German phrases and a Hitler’s speech and the role of their features in the persuasion process. The German language has long and short vowels, diphthongs and accents, like Latin and Greek; therefore, this article gives not only a syllabic and accentual analysis but also a quantitative one in connection with the political argument.
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