Classical and Modern Rhetoric - Essay Example

ical and Modern Rhetoric Rhetoric is largely defined as the art or approach of persuasion using spoken and written language. This definition ismainly associated with classical rhetoric since it has grown into a field of study and is quite different from contemporary rhetoric forms (Herrick p.7). Spoken rhetoric is oratory. It sets rules that oversee the composition of prose and speech designed to sway the opinions, emotions and decisions of the public. Rhetoric is primarily concerned with all aspects associated with beauty of the oration and strength of style and in a lesser sense with the underlying principles of invention, organization of material, style and delivery. Classical rhetoric can be traced back to the ancient times beginning with Homer who is thought to be the father of oratory having inspired many in the art. Athens in 510BC consisted of democratic institutions that forced citizens to engage in public service and making oratory skills necessary. This decree gave rise to the formation of an assembly of scholars called Sophists who strove to educate people in the art of speaking and make them better speakers. Protagoras one of the first sophists taught his students the method in making the weaker part of speech or discussion the stronger argument. In 5th century BC, Corax of Syracuse described rhetoric as the art of persuasion. He wrote the first book on rhetoric and is thought to be the actual originator of rhetoric as a science. Pupils of Corax such as Tisias also mastered the art of rhetoric. Others included Gorgias, Thrasymachus and Antiphon who was the first to unify the theoretical and practical aspects of rhetoric. The 4th century great orator Isocrates developed the art of rhetoric into a cultural academic work, a doctrine having practical objectives. He lectured on public speaking as a way of self improvement. He aimed to distance himself from the Sophists whom he viewed as pretending to know more than they did. He accepted oratory as an art to be learned and excelled in, but also that it relied on ones own personal inclinations and interest to progress in the field and this included persistence, practice and following role models. He opined that public speaking was of more value when the speaker talked on noble ideas and posed critical questions that made people think. This had the effect of improving the character of the speaker and audience as well as providing them food for thought. His written speeches were models for his students to emulate. He wrote no handbooks on the subject of oratory but his speeches 'Antidosis' and 'Against the Sophists' are considered to be models of oratory, influencing later orators such as Cicero and Quintilian (Corbett p.496.) Greek philosopher Plato highlighted a technical approach to rhetoric. His work titled Gorgias debated the Sophistic view that persuasion could be independent from the art of dialectic. Plato emphasised truth over persuasion and noted that audiences will not improve simply by listening to flattering and coercive statements. In Phaedrus, he explained the underlying conventions that comprised the substance of rhetorical art. He indicated the differences between true and false forms of rhetoric. He suggested that dialectic produced true form of rhetoric where logic and rational arguments with persuasive power seemed much more effective and genuine way to get the message across and sway audiences. Plato's coinage of the word 'rhetoric' was his way of criticizing the Sophists assertions about teaching virtue through persuasive oratory. Plato's student was Aristotle (384-322 BC) whose work on rhetoric continues to be a subject of study. Aristotle described the purpose of rhetoric as being rather than persuasion. It was a process of uncovering all possible means of persuasion. Greater emphasis was placed on a persuasive gathering of truth to win an argument rather than swaying audiences by rousing their emotions. Aristotle considered rhetoric as the opposite of logic or as he describes it, the antistrophe of dialectic. But more accurately, instead of being the opposite, rhetoric can substitute logic or be used in place of dialectic. He states that the role of rhetoric is parallel but different to its use in context to dialectic. Aristotle's writings on rhetoric attempts to define it as a skill or technique. His view on rhetoric as a means of discovery appears to limit it to the process of invention and gives greater importance to the logical nature of the process. His discourse considers emotional appeals (pathos) and appeals to character (ethos) not just elements of style and technique of delivery. He recognizes three responsibilities of rhetoric namely, invention, arrangement and style and three forms of rhetorical proof (Honeycutt 2004). Ethos - the speaker's influence with an audience in terms of how trustworthy they find his character and integrity. It follows that speakers of power and position such as teachers and professors are largely viewed as trustworthy and assumed to know their subject in depth. The trust factor is the first barrier the speaker must surmount to warrant the audience's further attention. Pathos - is the handling of emotional appeals to influence the judgement and opinion of an audience. Good speakers usually do this through the use of metaphor, narration of stories and anecdotes and expounding the subject in a manner that would stir deep emotions out of the audience. Logos - the use of logic and reasoning to formulate an argument. The reasoning can be inductive or deductive. Inductive reasoning calls upon example such as historical or hypothetical to present conclusions. Deductive reasoning which Aristotle put a greater emphasis on, claming that it was key to the nature of rhetorical invention, uses conventional propositions to arrive at definite conclusions. Aristotle also proposed three types of rhetoric, namely forensic, deliberative and epideictic. Forensic rhetoric, also called judicial, involved establishing truth or falsity of past events (Freese p.5). Deliberative, also called political, involved ascertaining whether or not a certain course of action in the future should be taken or not. Epideictic, also ceremonial, was associated with honour or culpability. Ancient Rome used Greek instructions and oratory models which influenced many Roman intellectuals such as Cicero and Quintilian. Cicero wrote a number of dissertations on the theory and practical applications of rhetoric. One of these was 'On the Orator' 55BC. 'Institutio Oratoria' by Quintilian 95 AD, examines the maxims of rhetoric and the essence of eloquence. He debates the training and preparation of the ideal orator and assesses the opinions of past rhetoricians who had written on the subject. In his treatise, he structures the rhetorical study according to the phases in education that a would-be orator would go through. The basics are studied first; writing, grammar and reading. The next stage would be engaging in rhetorical exercises in composition which comprise of poems, narratives, fables and political speeches to examine the strengths and weakness in argument. Rhetorical training was grouped under five principles: Inventio or invention which is the capacity to expand and refine an argument. Dispositio or disposition is the next step that is used to establish just how the discourse should be structured to create the maximum effect. Elocutio or style of presentation is the next step which involves the manner in which the discourse is presented. Memoria - memory - a good speaker will recall some parts of his speech to strengthen his arguments in people's mind by evoking their memory Actio is delivery which is the way the speech is presented in a genial and affable way so as to please the audience. Quintillian's purpose was not only to describe rhetoric as an art but to train the perfect orator who was a politically aware individual and socially conscious citizen (Unizar 2004). Modern rhetoric saw a revival in the first half of the twentieth century after a gradual decline in its importance during the 18th century which saw few exponents of the art. The linguistic science known as semantics that had many exponents, encouraged the revival of rhetoric in nations that used English. Academic institutions were proponents for a need to formally introduce rhetoric as a subject of study. Professional organizations were also set up in this regard. Whereas in the time of classical rhetoric, media did not exist as we know it today, men of importance of the time, largely formed the select group that used rhetoric to sway the masses. But in modern times, with the advent of various, easily accessible media outlets such as radio, TV, film, newspapers, magazines and advertising, the need to use rhetoric to sway the masses through persuasion grew in importance. The use and study of language and the art of delivery took on new meaning in a mediated world where words held power and affected not only political life but daily lives of the common man. An example of how modern rhetoric influenced the masses was complied by McLuhan who published the book The Mechanical Bride: The Folklore of Industrial Man, which shows ads and other public material from popular culture, which were designed to persuade through art, visuals and writing. McLuhan included short essays on each and the strategies of persuasion that they used. Having studied how popular culture uses strategies of persuasion in various forms, McLuhan focused on how persuasive media communication is on the people. He described the communication media itself as something that carries a persuasive feature. He states that 'the medium is the message'. His next two books, The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man and Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, explored the characteristics of modern forms of rhetoric even further and made him one of 20th century's most publicized thinkers. Other scholars studying rhetoric focus mainly on sociological effects and symbolic relationships that modern rhetoric plays on people whereas McLuhan concerned himself with how empirical levels of consciousness is affected by rhetoric. This is particularly the case with the next books in 1962 and 1964. He states that at the empirical level, the medium is the message but the content is the message at the higher levels of consciousness where intelligence and rationality reside. As opposed to classical studies of rhetoric, contemporary theories of rhetoric are greatly influenced by research practices and results obtained from them. Even studies on how certain colours can influence humans have shaped how rhetoric is employed to sway people. Studies conducted on word associations and their influence on people's perception and memories have encouraged advertisers to use rhetoric more effectively, employing the latest research results. These come under the behavioural sciences category and researchers have attempted to use rhetoric as a social science to predict human behaviour. Theorists such as Ernst Cassirer, Hugh Duncan and Kenneth Burke have all studied the nature of human communication and the things that influence human behaviour. Whereas classical scholars of rhetoric concerned themselves with rhetoric as a device for speech and eloquence, modern scholars focus on a diversified field of study concerned with rhetoric, be it music, newspaper, television, radio, film and advertising. Kenneth Burke views people as 'symbol using animals' and described rhetoric as the use of symbols in words or pictures to influence other's behaviour in order for them to cooperate. Contemporary theories on rhetoric, makes use of data garnered from cultural studies and performance research and study. The main areas of interest pertain to the relationships between rhetoric and culture, rhetoric and gender, media, science and technology. With the inclusion of the net into people's lives, rhetoric is playing an even more important role where millions of people can be influenced in a very short span of time. This new age medium is a breeding ground for all forms of rhetoric and can have social consequences for better or for worse. Over the years, rhetoric has come to mean something more than just a method for teaching effective communication and developing more eloquent speakers. It is a technique for gaining understanding both on a theoretical standpoint as well as a practical one with regards to the manner in which humans communicate through language. This is what is meant by discourse analysis and is usually associated with the process of undertaking research or scholarship. Discourse analysis is more of a way of tackling and thinking about a problem rather than proposing a certain method to solve it. Therefore discourse analysis is a research method that is neither quantitative nor qualitative but a way of probing and inquiring into the qualitative and quantitative research methods. It offers no solutions to problems based on scientific research, however it provokes questions of existence about the project and also the nature of existing knowledge about the project or research method. Discourse analysis will uncover underlying motivations behind the speech, text or statement. In contemporary times, discourse analysis is a deconstructive appraisal and understanding of the text or problem. Many postmodern theories envision every idea of reality and regard reality as a text itself. Discourse analysis may not give definite solutions to a particular problem but allow us to comprehend the circumstances behind the problem and enable us to appreciate the heart of the problem lies in the assumptions that gives existence to the problem. Discourse analysis allows us to see the big picture and gain an overview of the problem and our relationship to it. It is a process of analysing designed to bring an awareness of the veiled motivations in other people as well as ourselves in order to answer problems. This form of rhetoric is the method used for understanding how humans employ the use of language on a theoretical and practical level. Classical studies on rhetoric have a limited scope, as in ancient times the term meant speech building and persuasion but contemporary rhetoric studies have encompassed a more diverse range of meanings and practices. Modern theorists submit that persuasion through rhetoric depends on communication where meaning is essential in conveying a message. The modern form of rhetoric includes a broad range of ideas and not limited to political, public or legal discourse. The importance given to meaning and the manner it is composed draws from works on social and critical theory and philosophy. While classical rhetoric was involved in areas such as public speaking, political speeches, marketing, advertising and law, the modern form of rhetoric encompasses a variety of fields such as journalism, history, literature, religion and science. In fact all facets of human communication and verbalization has elements of rhetoric. References Corbett, Edward P. J., Connors, Robert J. (1998) Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. Oxford University Press. P.496 Freese, J. H. (2006) Aristotle: Art of Rhetoric, Volume XXII. Loeb Classical Library. P.5 Herrick, James A. (1996) The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction. Prentice Hall. P.7 Honeycutt, Lee (2004). Aristotle's Rhetoric. Available at Accessed 30-4-07. Unizar (2004) Classical Rhetoric. Available at Read More