Pondering Life's Great Questions
What is "rhetoric"?
Now, before you roll your eyes and "x" out of my blog, just know that I spent my Saturday morning developing a response to this very question so that you don't have to (all together now - YAY).
Bear in mind as you read this that I'm simply sharing it here because I love this "stuff". Language, particularly in its written form, is exciting to me. Formulating a response was actually "fun" and challenging, the perfect combination. Oh, and this is just my response based on my research. It shouldn't be accepted as "the" definition of rhetoric. All clear? Excellent.
As a science, rhetoric is using language (written, spoken, and body) to obtain results from the audience. The ability to do this well is the art of rhetoric.
The science is in knowing which words and parts of speech to use and how to structure them to obtain the intended results, essentially understanding the theory behind language. The art is the ability to deliver the information, written or spoken, so that the audience reacts and/or is inspired to act.
Perspectives on the Study of Rhetoric, an article written by Foss, Foss, and Trapp and found in the textbook, Professional Writing and Rhetoric, studies the origins, evoluation, and the meaning of rhetoric today. The complex art of rhetoric had simple beginning dating back to antiquity. Landowners were forced to argue their rights to property. Corax of Syracuse essentially developed the first "for Dummies" guide by identifying the components of a successful argument, although his treatise was probably not bound in a black and yellow cover or made available on http://www.amazon.com/. From this point forward, rhetoric would be studied, argued, and perfected.
Once the concept of rhetoric spread, a new class of teachers emerged to teach and instruct in wisdom and knowledge (12). These sophists focused on technique and oration.
The study of rhetoric continued to evolve and Plato (427-347 B.C.), in a philosophical approach, denounced the rhetoric of sophists and instead created his ideal of the art of rhetoric. His ideal began with "knowing the truth and nature of the human soul". With this truth, rhetoric was not art (14).
Aristotle is credited with making rhetoric a field of study, a unified body of thought (14). Expanding upon Plato's work, Aristotle added to the ongoing discussion and definition of rhetoric and identified the canons of rhetoric that have stood the test of time. The four canons are invention, organization, style, and delivery (14). A fifth canon, memory, exists today, but Aristotle did not identify it (14). It is interesting to point out though, that throughout history, scholars separated these four components when studying rhetoric. During The Renaissance, for example, rhetoric was simply about style and delivery (16).
If any treatises were written in the two hundred years after Aristotle's Rhetoric, they were lost to history (14). However, rhetoric is still relevant due to the rise of the Roman Empire and their interest in it, the basis of which they borrowed from the Greeks (14). The Romans spent a good deal of time perfecting rhetoric in oration.
Cicero is credited with stylizing rhetoric in oration into three separate categories - the plain, the moderate, and the grand (15). Continuing with the theme of rhetoric and oration, M. Fabius Quintilian (35-95 A.D.) defined the orator as "the good man speaking well" and the citizen-orator trained for a lifetime. His ideas were the basis for education throughout the Middle Ages (15).
Following the decline of the Roman Empire, speeches gave way to letter writing and the written word in a practical, not theoretical, form (16). Throughout The Middle Ages, the principles of letter writing and even the basic format of a letter were considered rhetoric (16). The Renaissance continued to focus on style and expression, quite possibly to excess (16).
With the age of modern rhetoric, the definition of rhetoric returned to its roots. Content became a key component once again, although later in this period, elocation (delivery) of speech would become a focus and almost formulaic in nature (17).
When the twentieth century dawned there was a rebirth in rhetoric as a field of study and discipline. Today, undergraduate Professional Writing majors are required to take at least one course in rhetoric. Over centuries of time, scholars have come full circle and now define rhetoric "as an art that includes the canon of invention, organization, and elocution, as well as delivery" (19), something very similar to Aristotle's definition from so long ago.
Now, before you roll your eyes and "x" out of my blog, just know that I spent my Saturday morning developing a response to this very question so that you don't have to (all together now - YAY).
Bear in mind as you read this that I'm simply sharing it here because I love this "stuff". Language, particularly in its written form, is exciting to me. Formulating a response was actually "fun" and challenging, the perfect combination. Oh, and this is just my response based on my research. It shouldn't be accepted as "the" definition of rhetoric. All clear? Excellent.
As a science, rhetoric is using language (written, spoken, and body) to obtain results from the audience. The ability to do this well is the art of rhetoric.
The science is in knowing which words and parts of speech to use and how to structure them to obtain the intended results, essentially understanding the theory behind language. The art is the ability to deliver the information, written or spoken, so that the audience reacts and/or is inspired to act.
Perspectives on the Study of Rhetoric, an article written by Foss, Foss, and Trapp and found in the textbook, Professional Writing and Rhetoric, studies the origins, evoluation, and the meaning of rhetoric today. The complex art of rhetoric had simple beginning dating back to antiquity. Landowners were forced to argue their rights to property. Corax of Syracuse essentially developed the first "for Dummies" guide by identifying the components of a successful argument, although his treatise was probably not bound in a black and yellow cover or made available on http://www.amazon.com/. From this point forward, rhetoric would be studied, argued, and perfected.
Once the concept of rhetoric spread, a new class of teachers emerged to teach and instruct in wisdom and knowledge (12). These sophists focused on technique and oration.
The study of rhetoric continued to evolve and Plato (427-347 B.C.), in a philosophical approach, denounced the rhetoric of sophists and instead created his ideal of the art of rhetoric. His ideal began with "knowing the truth and nature of the human soul". With this truth, rhetoric was not art (14).
Aristotle is credited with making rhetoric a field of study, a unified body of thought (14). Expanding upon Plato's work, Aristotle added to the ongoing discussion and definition of rhetoric and identified the canons of rhetoric that have stood the test of time. The four canons are invention, organization, style, and delivery (14). A fifth canon, memory, exists today, but Aristotle did not identify it (14). It is interesting to point out though, that throughout history, scholars separated these four components when studying rhetoric. During The Renaissance, for example, rhetoric was simply about style and delivery (16).
If any treatises were written in the two hundred years after Aristotle's Rhetoric, they were lost to history (14). However, rhetoric is still relevant due to the rise of the Roman Empire and their interest in it, the basis of which they borrowed from the Greeks (14). The Romans spent a good deal of time perfecting rhetoric in oration.
Cicero is credited with stylizing rhetoric in oration into three separate categories - the plain, the moderate, and the grand (15). Continuing with the theme of rhetoric and oration, M. Fabius Quintilian (35-95 A.D.) defined the orator as "the good man speaking well" and the citizen-orator trained for a lifetime. His ideas were the basis for education throughout the Middle Ages (15).
Following the decline of the Roman Empire, speeches gave way to letter writing and the written word in a practical, not theoretical, form (16). Throughout The Middle Ages, the principles of letter writing and even the basic format of a letter were considered rhetoric (16). The Renaissance continued to focus on style and expression, quite possibly to excess (16).
With the age of modern rhetoric, the definition of rhetoric returned to its roots. Content became a key component once again, although later in this period, elocation (delivery) of speech would become a focus and almost formulaic in nature (17).
When the twentieth century dawned there was a rebirth in rhetoric as a field of study and discipline. Today, undergraduate Professional Writing majors are required to take at least one course in rhetoric. Over centuries of time, scholars have come full circle and now define rhetoric "as an art that includes the canon of invention, organization, and elocution, as well as delivery" (19), something very similar to Aristotle's definition from so long ago.
Works Cited
Peeples, Tim. Professional Writing and Rhetoric. New York: Longman Publishing Group, 2003. Print.
Great review of the first chapter! Ah, Tim Peeples, how you consumed my previous semester of graduate school...
ReplyDeleteI love that you commented. There IS hope that I will survive "Intro".
ReplyDeleteI PROMISE you'll survive it! I won't lie, it's definitely a challenge, but I think you'll find that you're better for it in the end. Also, that you deserve a party or an award of some sort.
ReplyDelete