Rhetorical Analysis of a Sermon: Twelve Steps

The sermon has been a mainstay of public address in Christian history and beyond. As such, it is open to rhetorical analysis as much as to an assessment of its religious content or role. How does one analyze a sermon rhetorically? Here is a set of questions to ask when analyzing a written sermon. (Some additional categories would be used if one is viewing or participating as an original audience member.)

1. What is the rhetorical situation?
2. What is the genre?
3. Who is the speaker? What is his/her character (ethos)?
4. What about the audience?
5. What are the speaker's intentions?
6. What are the main ideas?
7. How are the ideas arranged? What is the organization of the sermon?
8. How does the speaker support his ideas?
9. How does the speaker appeal to emotion (the persuasive appeal of pathos)?
10. How does the speaker use language?
11. What is the style and tone?
12. How does the medium affect the message?

Here are the same questions, with added detail:

1. What is the rhetorical situation?

One must consider the historical and cultural contexts of this communication, including the immediate pretext for speaking. This is known as the kairos -- all the variables of time, place, person, and occasion that influence what is said and why. This is vital information and leads to the next questions about genre, speaker, audience, and purpose.

2. What is the genre?

Is this a specific type of sermon? (For example, one given on a specific holiday, or for a funeral, etc.)? Knowing genres helps you to understand the audience and purpose better. Specific denominations will have distinct genres of sermons, or will make distinctions not observed by others. For example, in Catholic tradition there is both the "homily" and the "sermon." In general, a homily is given by a priest or deacon and is more pragmatic and short, helping listeners apply a specific reading from the Bible to their lives. In contrast, a sermon isn't necessarily based mostly on a reading, can be longer and more doctrinal or didactic, and is not given by a deacon.

3. Who is the speaker? What is his/her character (ethos)?

Consider the prior reputation of the speaker, but also consider how the speaker conveys a sense of his own character while speaking. What does he/she do to gain the trust or interest of the audience as a person? This could be related to many of the other points of analysis, such as style or tone.

4. What about the audience?

What do we as listeners or readers already know about the speaker? What did the original audience members know of him or her? Do we know how the audience did or might respond to the sermon? Are there multiple audiences (such as one for the spoken word and for the printed sermon)?

5. What are the speaker's intentions?

Start with the most obvious intentions (which might be apparent from the rhetorical situation or from the genre of speaking), but also keep an eye open for additional purposes. Is the speaker's purpose mostly informative (to teach or to transmit knowledge)? Is the purpose persuasive (to move the audience toward a certain attitude, belief, or action)? Are there secondary purposes (such as persuading the audience to think well of the speaker)? This last question relates "ethos," one of three general persuasive appeals (see below).

6. What are the main ideas?

Does the sermon have an explicit, central theme? What is/are the main point(s)? This naturally leads us to thinking about how those ideas are organized.

7. How are the ideas arranged? What is the organization of the sermon?

Does the speaker announce his/her structure, or is the organization more implicit? Is there a clear logic to the arrangement of ideas, or is the arrangement implicit or even haphazard? Does the arrangement of the ideas support the speaker's principal topics or intentions? Is there a clear introduction, main body, and conclusion? Are there digressions?

8. How does the speaker support his ideas?

Look for the sorts of logical proof being offered. What does the speaker use to back up any claims? Is there an appeal to documents (like the Bible)? to authority (the church fathers, famous religious figures)? Does he use comparisons? definitions? or any other of the common topics of invention?

9. How does the speaker appeal to emotion (the persuasive appeal of pathos)?

Does the speaker use a tone to evoke a specific emotion? Does he or she tell a story that engages the audience emotionally? Does the speaker use humor? Do vivid depictions or strong language evoke fear or wonder?

10.  How does the speaker use language?

--How formal or informal is the word choice? colloquial or formal?
--Are there patterns of sound, words, or phrases?
--Does the speaker use foreign phrases?
--Are there figures of speech, imagery, symbols, metaphors?

11. What is the style and tone?

An elevated style? a middle style? a plain style? Does the tone change over the sermon? Is it ironic or sarcastic? Humorous or derogatory? How does this shape one's sense of the speaker's character (ethos)? How does indicate the speaker's purposes?

12. How does the medium affect the message?

Would this be received or interpreted differently if experienced orally? Does reading it in a printed text alter its effect or function?