Logos-Ethos-Pathos

The main function of rhetorics is to persuade or convince. The basic strategies applied to attain this goal are so general they can also be applied to drama. The three basic strategies arise from the question of whether the predominant point of reference is:

1. The speech object (logos or pragma)
2. The speaker (ethos)
3. The listener (pathos)

This triadic pattern partially overlaps with the referential, expressive and appellative functions of Roman Jakobson's communication model, only its content is more narrowly confined.