Description
Book SynopsisReconstructs Kenneth Burke’s drafting and revision process for A Rhetoric of Motives and The War of Words, placing Burke’s work in historical context and revealing his reliance on the concept of myth.
Trade Review“To Burke scholarship, Kenneth Burke’s Weed Garden contributes an original, persuasive answer to questions about the coherence of A Rhetoric of Motives and of Burke’s whole philosophy of symbolic action. To rhetorical studies generally, it rigorously demonstrates the usefulness of genetic rhetorical criticism in understanding a specific text of rhetorical theory and masterfully illustrates the value of mythic images in interpreting rhetorical texts and contexts. For historically oriented cultural studies, it provides an extremely strong case for the major contribution rhetorical theory and analysis can make, especially when it combines scrupulous, detailed archival work with sophisticated, interdisciplinary theoretical speculation.”
—Steven Mailloux,author of Rhetoric’s Pragmatism: Essays in Rhetorical Hermeneutics
“Scholars interested in Burke studies will find this compelling book immensely valuable and provocative. Kyle Jensen offers a thorough reading of Burke’s archival and primary materials and his analyses will nuance and clarify understandings of rhetorical concepts such as myth.”
—Jessica Enoch,author of Domestic Occupations: Spatial Rhetorics and Women's Work
