Ethopoeia

Ethopoeia is the ancient Greek term for the creation of a character. Ethopoeia was a technique used by early students of rhetoric in order to create a successful speech or oration by impersonating a subject or client. Ethopoeia contains elements of both ethos and pathos and this is noticeable in the three divisions of ethopoeia. These three divisions are pathetical (dealing with emotions), ethical (dealing with character) and mixed (a combination of both emotion and character). It is essential to impersonation, one of the fourteen progymnasmata exercises created for the early schools of rhetoric.

==Definition== Ethopoeia, derived from the Greek ethos (character) and poeia (representation), is the ability to capture the ideas, words, and style of delivery suited to the person for whom an address is written. It also involves adapting a speech to the exact conditions under which it is to be spoken. In fact, while the argument can be made that the act of impersonating words, ideas and style to an audience is the most important factor of ethopoeia, the audience and situational context have a huge impact on whether the technique will actually work. A rhetor has to make sure they are impersonating a character the audience will find appealing. The rhetor also has to make sure the character they are playing is the right one for the situation they find themselves in. Finally, ethopoeia is the art of discovering the exact lines of argument that will turn the case against the opponent. Ethopoeia is largely related to impersonation, a progymnasmata exercise in which early students of rhetoric would compose a dialogue in the style of a person they chose to portray. These dialogues were often dramatic in nature, using description and emotional language where appropriate, fitting the speech to the character of the speaker and the circumstances.