Pathos, Ethos, and Logos
The three classical appeals of persuasion: to emotion, to character or credibility, and to logic.
These are the pillars of rhetoric: pathos moves the audience’s feelings, ethos establishes the speaker’s trustworthiness, and logos builds a reasoned argument. Writers and speakers blend them to persuade, adjusting the mix to their aim and audience. Analyzing which appeal dominates reveals how a text works on its reader.
Example
Antony’s funeral speech leans on pathos, stirring the crowd’s grief and anger until reason gives way and they turn against the conspirators.
Julius Caesar · William Shakespeare