Rhetoric - A Very Short Introduction by Richard Toye - Book Report/Review Example

Reading response Chapter1. From Greek to Gladstone This chapter provides an overview and brief explanation regarding the rhetoric history from the classical time to late 19th century. It starts in Athens with the Sophists in the fifth century. Then it moved to Aristotle, Isocrates and finally moved on to Cicero. The adaptation and survival of rhetoric in the middle ages was documented then rhetoric during the renaissance. It was also documented through the period of enlightenment. The revolution period is discussed before the consideration of rhetoric mass democracy and Gladstone’s speeches. In this chapter, Rhetoric is viewed as a significant complete system of education with links to science, private conversation, commerce and literature. The Secular speaking art died as a result, of rhetoric. Rhetoric was transformed to focus more on logic and grammar. Education curriculum drifted from practical domain to a narrow intellectual one. Classical learning suffered from excessively practical focus and became fossilized. The content of classical learning became wrenched out of context. Despite the continuities, there were dramatic ideological and technological developments that influenced how rhetoric was received and disseminated. Printing press invention facilitated the quick and wide spread dissemination of different texts (Toye 22). This chapter depicts that rhetoric involves much more than arrangement of speech figures to develop a good impression to the listeners. In many occasions, places and times rhetoric is viewed as a complete educational system that is enough to prepare the leaders for their governing task. At the same time some critics also perceive it as a method through which the unscrupulous people who want to be leaders deceive the public. It is assumed that people employ rhetoric just to move the masses yet they have incompetent leadership qualities. In this chapter, Toye points out that power relation, culture, determine how rhetoric is received and technology levels in a society. As much as over time some techniques have appeared to be perennially effective there is no formula or set of rules that assure success. The attempts and efforts to lay down such rules are characterized by assumptions on topics like gender, class and race. This reveals why the rhetoric investigation is a relevant starting point in understanding political and social questions (Toye 24). Chapter 2. Scaffolding of Rhetoric This chapter mainly involves the description of various significant rhetoric methods. It refers to the key rhetoric methods that were well known in the ancient world and are still used in the modern world. The three oratory branches are; deliberative rhetoric, forensic/judicial rhetoric and epidemic/display rhetoric. Despite of the speech being epideictic, deliberative or forensic it is bound to involve an appeal of; pathos-emotion, ethos-character or logos- logic. Aristotle identified these categories. The chapter also discusses how different forms of speech, metaphors and similes and the language choice influence the reception of words. David stresses that there is no recipe or procedure, which infallibly produces success. What matters is the right moment and situation timing. The Greeks refer to it as the opportune moment (Toye 27). Without the right time even the brilliant speeches fall apart. Aristotle in this chapter suggests that art of rhetoric relies on opportunities provided by their situation at hand. The chapter explains visual rhetoric concept as it shows how gestures, use of physical space and clothing can be used to enhance verbal messages. In this chapter, the author portrays how scaffolding of rhetoric is useful in the analyzing and crafting of rhetoric. The conscious choice reflection of language makes the rhetoric more persuasive and at the same time helps in avoiding unthinking repetition of thought patterns that are stereotyped. There is also no formula or magic used to devise or decode rhetoric. The relationship and uncertainties between the audience and the speaker shows that speech reception has to always be unpredictable (Toye 60). In some cases, the hidden assumptions to a text are never known unless subsequent analysis is done to make them knowable. There are various scope of creative approach which use the classical categorization tools as a window or passage to the social worlds which produce them. Chapter3. Approaches to Rhetoric This chapter addresses the fundamental queries on how the practice and study of rhetoric should be handled or approached. Richard uses examples from ‘New Critics’ of the mid-twentieth century by Wimsatt and Monroe, George Orwell, Ronald Bathes, Alfred Hitchcock and different speeches of George Bush. These rhetoric approaches exposes the audience to the problem of intention and meaning. The chapter also considers new rhetoric and speech act theory as examples and approaches to rhetoric. It is concluded that if intentions of a speaker are opaque and unknowable in the ultimate sense then their specific rhetoric can still provide a clue or window through which their societal value originates from (Toye 70). The use of rhetoric is simultaneously ambiguous and revealing and this explains why people are striving to study it. It also shows that the different approaches have never come up with similar explanation. There is the constant abuse of language by the politicians and they are usually denounced. Politicians are blamed for making vague and cloudy statements just to move the masses or give excuses. The rhetoric approaches analyzed in this chapter mainly focus on meaning and intention. Sometimes people say things without a specific intention or meaning but it is difficult to pin them down. It is never possible to provide absolute or definite answer to what a particular speech or book means. It is only possible to narrow and focus on the possible intention and meanings through use of external evidence to give explanation (Toye 78). What the author intends in some instances is less important or different to what the readers assume. The reader tends to derive meanings from text even if the meaning or intent is opaque. This chapter stresses that even if a text or speech may be opaque and fails to give a firm answer or unknowable in the ultimate sense they can still provide a window to the origin of societal values. Chapter 4. Rhetoric in the Modern world This chapter examines modern rhetoric phenomena basing on a rhetorical Second World War history case study. It depicts how rhetoric intersects and integrates with ideology and technology in the modern world. Making of speeches was an intrinsic and vital part in the global media war that was fought together with the military campaigns, which occurred between 1939 and 1945 (Toye 97). The speech making had many roles such as the establishing national leaders’ credibility and the sustenance and maintenance of the domestic morale. It was also through which the leaders publicized their international diplomacy and attempted holocaust legitimization. In this chapter David also discusses the influence that modern culture, technology and institution have on rhetoric. The use of rhetoric in American politics is also discussed. In this chapter, the author makes it clear that rhetoric can be understood in the modern world when it’s separated from revolution of global communication. In addition, technological change cannot be observed as a separate autonomous force. It must be merged with culture and political institutions. Human culture moved from primary orality where spoken word meant everything. The modern world also embraces written word. There are new forms of communication in the modern age such as phones, radios and television but there is also an outstanding connection to literacy and script. The newsreaders read and presidents also read written speeches. Without writing, the presidents will be forgotten as soon as they are out of power. Works Cited Toye, Richard. Rhetoric: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. Print Read More