So Rhetoric is a Thing

On Friday August 28^th I received a blog prompt in my History and Theories of College Composition class asking the question “What is rhetoric? What is the history and theory of rhetoric? What do you want to do with the content from this course?” And, to be quite honest, I don’t have the smallest of clues.

Dictionary.com defines rhetoric as “the art or science of all specialized literary uses of language in prose or verse, including the figures of speech.” From this definition we can deduce that rhetoric is how we talk, write, and present our ideas using words. It’s also how we tailor those presentations to our audience. Have you ever noticed the differences between how you speak to or text your friends and how you address your parents. I know I have. When I’m with my friends my speech patterns are relaxed, less formal. I don’t put as much effort into getting the words out in the right order because I know my friends, with whom I spend a great deal of my time and who are of the same age as me, will understand what I am trying to say. When I’m with my parents I know they will comment if I don’t use proper grammar, if I don’t enunciate clearly, if I accidentally use a curse word, so I adjust my language accordingly. This is rhetoric, the art of choosing the most effective language with an eye to the context of the situation.

This art of choosing known as rhetoric as a long history dating back thousands of years. The Ancient Egyptians prized it, Mesopotamia started it, the Chinese philosopher Confucius used it, and the philosophers of Ancient Greece made it famous. Now, thousands of years later students are still studying rhetoric. Theories abound about how best to implement rhetoric strategies. As a student myself I am taking Texas Tech’s History and Theory of College Composition in the course of studying for my M.A. in English with a focus on Creative Writing. As the name would suggest, in the class we will be studying the history of rhetoric and what theories were implemented in the past and which ones are used in the present and I for one am incredibly curious.

As I said, my focus is on Creative Writing and as such I am really interested in how rhetoric theories affect the way my characters interact with each other. What rhetoric strategies would me characters employ when addressing a superior, a friend, a man they are trying to talk down off a ledge? Does social class and upbringing have an effect on what rhetoric strategies characters are familiar with? How would a character react if another accidently uses the wrong rhetoric strategy when communicating with them? What are the different rhetoric strategies are and when are they appropriate? All of these questions and more I hope to find answers to as I embark on the adventure that is this class.