Rhetoric is a scary word, but do we even really know what it is? This post dives into rhetoric, taking a stripped down practical approach and how it relates to us, as readers and writers.
Welcome back Readers!
This post is a little more...elevated, we're going to dive into a term you may or may not be familiar with; rhetoric. Before we get too deep it's important that you know, this effects you as readers, consumers, citizens and writers. Rhetoric is literally everywhere. But I'll try to stay within our scope of reading and analysis!
Having a better knowledge of literary principals like rhetoric can help you dig deeper in your reading analysis and give you additional direction in your writing.
The easiest way to approach the importance of rhetoric is to tackle the basics... yes we're going back to the a few of the 5 W's (Who, What, and Why), sooo #basic, but soo necessary.
What is Rhetoric?
There are a bunch of definitions floating out there, so I'll give you two. The first definition, is pretty standard:
rhet·o·ric
noun
the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.
We're going to keep this definition in our right breast pocket, it's clear concise and sums up rhetoric fairly well.
The next one comes from Marie Hochmuth Nichols , she's a professor, essayist, rhetor and pretty much my soul sister💟. Here's how she defines rhetoric:
“[Rhetoric is] the theory and practice of the verbal mode of presenting judgment and choice, knowledge and feeling” .
We're going to keep her definition in our left breast pocket... close to our hearts💞.
Who uses it?
It may seem like a big concept, but we all employ rhetoric regularly. After exploring the concept a little more you'll find that writing is a rhetorical activity. Approaching writing as a rhetorical activity is more ingrained in us than we realize, it’s practically intuitive to consider one’s audience when composing.
This innate knowledge is wonderful, but It’s critical we draw attention to the concept of rhetoric and bring it out in the light, so writers can utilize the rhetorical elements in composition to communicate more effectively with their audience.
“Understanding the rhetorical work of writing is essential if writers are to make informed, productive decisions about which genres to employ, which languages to act with, which texts to reference, and so on.” -Roozen
It isn’t enough to silently acknowledge the rhetorical element in writing, we need to project it and broaden our awareness to use this tool effectively . As writers, it’s essential we can articulate the many dimensions of our craft and share our messages with audiences.
Why do we care...?
Easy answer, we're readers! A major component of our analysis is identifying subcontext. We want to take our reading game to a higher plain, and having this rhetorical knowledge gives us just that. It's a starting point, it forces us to observe more than just what's written and the peripheral information surrounding it to draw our conclusions.
On another note, we should care because this is where our knowledge comes from! Rhetoric can be used for 'evil', we call this 'rhetrickery'. That's the kind of manipulative staging and phrasing we see in most politicians...
Yep, I 👏🏾SAID 👏🏾WHAT👏🏾I 👏🏾SAID!
We also see these tactics in the media, some call it 'spin' but it's a ploy to manipulate the truth and represent it in a way that suits their needs or the needs of their donors, #fakenews.
But there's actually a science to the rhetoric used to create knowledge guys. Philosopher Micheal Foucault gives us his theory of 'discursive formations' informing us just how and who get's to create that knowledge, he tells us:
"... the content and form of rhetoric and who is allowed to be a rhetor are all products of a particular set of rules that exist in a culture. Thus, the knowledge produced through rhetoric in a culture is subject to a set of conditions that permits some kinds of knowledge while disallowing other kinds of knowledge" .
Essentially, our social norms and construct dictate who can create knowledge. Our culture contributes to the rhetoric being circulated and consumed, so we should be cognizant.
Becoming more sensitive to these techniques just makes us more well informed creators and consumers of media, so let's stay in the loop of these tactics and #staywoke guys!
More: Check out this site I created about conscious communication for more insights on rhetoric.
References: Foss, Sonja & Gill, Ann. (1987). Michel Foucault's theory of rhetoric as epistemic. Western Journal of Speech Communication. 51. 10.1080/10570318709374280. Blankenship, Jane. “The Song of the Open Road: Marie Hochmuth Nichols as Teacher.” Communication Quarterly, vol. 34, Fall 1986, pp. 419–425. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hus&AN=509436081&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Lanigan, Richard L. “Foucault's Science of Rhetoric: The Contest Between Practical Discourse and Discursive Practice.” Symplokē, vol. 4, no. 1/2, 1996, pp. 189–202. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40550393.
Roozen, Kevin. “Writing Is a Social and Rhetorical Activity.” Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies. Linda Adler-Kassner and Elizabeth Wardle (Eds.). Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2015. 17-19. Print.
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