An Overview
of Rhetoric
Robert Herrick
Rhetoric
 “Systematic
study and intentional
practice of effective symbolic
expression.”
 Symbolic?
Rhetor *
 anyone
who composes discourse that is
intended to affect an audience’s or
broader community’s thinking or actions.
Goals of Rhetoric
 Achieving
clarity
 Awakening sense of beauty
 Bringing about mutual understanding
6 Characteristics
 Rhetoric
 How
is planned
would this relate to:
6 Characteristics
 Rhetoric

is adapted to an audience
Enthymeme*: the rhetor provides a tenable
premise and expects the audience to
“fill in” or arrive at the desired conclusion, based
on shared values, beliefs, concerns, or knowledge;
shared but unstated assumption
How is this adapted to
audience?
6 Characteristics
 Rhetoric
reveals human motives
“We have this fantasy that our interests
and the interests of the super rich are the
same. Like somehow the rich will
eventually get so full that they’ll explode.
And the candy will rain down on the rest
of us. Like there’s some kind of pinata of
benevolence. But here’s the thing about
a pinata: it doesn’t open on it’s own. You
have to beat it with a stick.” — Bill Maher
6 Characteristics
 Rhetoric
is responsive (to a situation or
previous rhetorical statement)
6 Characteristics
 Rhetoric




seeks persuasion
Argument – claim, reason, evidence
Appeals
Arrangement
Aesthetics
6 Characteristics
 Rhetoric
addresses contingent issues

Contingent – no definite or unavoidable
answers; weighing of options necessary

Deliberate: reason through various
alternatives
Social functions of rhetoric
 Testing


ideas
for both rhetor and audience
By public – i.e. abolition of slavery
 Assisting
Advocacy
 Distributing power



Personal power – express self effectively
Psychological power – shape thinking of
others
Political power
Social functions of rhetoric
 Discovering


Locating evidence
Evaluating evidence
 Shaping

knowledge
Social role, rhetor & audience
 Building

facts
community
Example of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr