On Friday August 28th 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.
The idea of using this class to improve the interactions between your characters is a beautiful blend of your "critical" research and creative studies. I can see how each of us can use the composition theory in our fields to expand our understanding of the rhetoric of a given piece of literature. Are there particular pieces that you are working with that you are already applying the lessons from class readings and lectures to? The class has already served as a reminder for me personally to again observe the rhetorical choices of the medieval literature I'm analyzing, and with the useful and brief guide to the History of Rhetoric and Composition, I have been reminded to once again observe that medieval english literature uses a rhetoric that is only a derivative of classical rhetoric. I look forward to applying the theories to different political works in particular.
ReplyDeleteI have also noticed the difference in personal rhetorical choices made in front of parents and friends versus the choices I make in front of professors or peers in an academic setting. Oddly enough, I've also began looking at and thinking about how different rhetorical choices used in text messages, including the use of memes and emojis, change between texting loved ones, old friends, new friends, or professionals in the same vain as rhetorical choices made verbally.
Colleen, you are not the only one that has been unsure about the definition of rhetoric! The definition that you found on dictionary.com--"the art or science of all specialized literary uses of language in prose or verse, including the figures of speech"--this is the definition I was always taught in my classes, with not much more exposition. We would study figures of speech and refer to them as "rhetorical devices," with no distinction actually made between them. I feel that this definition, while accurate, is vastly different from the definition we discussed in class: rhetoric as the "art of persuasion." The first definition seems much harder to pin down, especially for a classroom full of first-years, and I think that it lacks expression of how integrated rhetoric already is in everyday life.
ReplyDeleteLike Clint, I also think that the study of rhetoric will aid you significantly in your creative writing (as it will for all of us!). I enjoyed your commentary on the differences in our language use between different groups of people or scenarios, and I think it highlights the fact that we will all have different motives behind certain language uses. In being casual, more formal, terse, etc., we attempt to get our points across in many ways. Like you pointed out, this can only be helpful as we all toy with our writing styles or study the writing of others.
You made a good point about characters and their rhetoric. It's definitely important to focus on how each character talks to another and why they talk the way they do. It's important for their development. It's fascinating to see how rhetoric helps even in a creative setting, and I'm really curious to see how my characters are going to change because of this class.
ReplyDeleteYep, rhetoric is a thing. A very important thing. Even more than how characters work with one another, rhetoric plays a huge role in creative writing just as it does with composition. You might look up Burke's pentad, for instance, and think about relationships between actors, agents, etc. Looking forward to seeing and hearing about your connections between CW and Composition.
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