what persuasive techniques does othello use in act 1 scene iii to convince the duke to stop his punishment?

Answer 1

This is almost a trick question. At no point do we get the sense that Othello is "defending" himself against Brabantio's charge...because he knows that the charges against him are completely unfounded.

Othello sends his aide, Iago, to fetch Desdemona, so that she can speak in Othello's defense. And, while they're all waiting for Desdemona to arrive, Othello tells the tale of how he met and wooed Desdemona. He concludes:

"She loved me for the dangers I had passed
And I loved her that she did pity them.
This only is the witchcraft I have used."

Othello calls his story a "round, unvarnished tale," and so it is. Simple, straightforward...yet beautiful and moving. When he finishes, the Duke says to Brabantio: "I think this tale would woo my daughter, too."