Argumentation
The purpose of “Paul McCartney is Esquire’s August Cover Star” by Alex Bilmes is to present Paul McCartney – the singer – at the age of 73, how he is still active in the music industry and the motivation behind his ambition to improve constantly.
When he presents Paul McCartney, Alex Bilmes, the author of the article, uses both explicit (open) and implicit (closed) argumentation. When it comes to explicit argumentation, readers are directly told Bilmes’opinion regarding McCartney, as in the following example:
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Language
The language employed in the article is simple and easy to understand. As the article is written in English, it is accessible for a large audience comprised of English speakers. The dominant feature of the language is how it is used to praise Paul McCartney. To praise the singer and make readers understand why he is so relevant in the music industry even today, the author employs various techniques, some of which we outline below:
Imagery
Imagery plays a very important role in the article, as it helps the writer to better depict Paul McCartney and create an image which can be easily visualised by the reader. Here is one of the most relevant descriptive passages about Paul McCartney, related to his habits before the concert:
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Similes and comparisons
Several similes and comparisons are employed in the article to help the reader to understand what Paul McCartney is like. For instance, Bilmes compares McCartney’s guitar (a Hofner) to his personal assistant (Hammel): “Like Hammel, the Hofner gets its own seat.” (ll. 51-52). This suggests that McCartney cares about his guitar as if it were a person.
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Enumerations
To show the readership Paul McCartney’s talent and his ability to stay focused on his musical career even after...
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Rhetorical devices
Rhetorical devices are the language techniques employed by the author to convince the readership of his arguments in favour of Paul McCartney. Some of the rhetorical devices employed in the article are:
Allusion
To make Paul McCartney stand out from the crowd of rock stars that have been transformed by celebrity, Alex Bilmes makes a number of allusions. First, he makes an allusion to several singers that he considers questionable from a moral point of view:
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Paul McCartney’s perspective
One of the main purposes of the article is to bring Paul McCartney closer to the public. To do so, the writer presents Paul McCartney’s perspective on some events.
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Apostrophe
As Alex Bilmes addresses the audience through an article, the audience cannot respond. This type of address that...
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