Description
Book SynopsisThis introduction to the art of rhetoric analyzes rhetorical concepts, problems, and methods and teaches practical inquiry through a series of classic rhetorical texts.
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- An introduction to the art of rhetoric for those who are unacquainted with it and an argument about invention and tradition suitable for specialists
- Texts range from Cicero''s De oratore and Augustine's On Christian Doctrine to Jane Austen's Persuasion and Stephen Greenblatt's Marvellous Possessions
- Texts serve simultaneously as works of persuasion and considerations of how rhetoric works
- Engages readers in using rhetoric to deliberate about challenging issues.
Trade Review“This is not only a useful introduction to the history of rhetoric, it is also an important contribution to contemporary legal and political theory.” (
Philosophy In Review)
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments.
List of Abbreviations.
Introducting Rhetoric.
Part I: Classical Rhetorical Traditions.
Introduction.
1 The Rhetorician: Demagogue or Statesman? Plato's Gorgias and Aristotle's Rhetoric.
2 Eloquence, Persuasion, and Invention: Cicero's De oratore.
3 Rhetoric and the Search for God: Augustine's On Christian Doctrine and Confessions.
4 Practical Reason or Interested Calculation? Cicero's On Duties and Machiavelli's The Prince.
Part II: Classical Rhetoric and Literary Interpretation.
Introduction.
5 Tradition and Invention: Bacon's Aphorisms and the Essays.
6 Deception, Strong Speech, and Mild Discourse in Milton's Early Prose and Paradise Lost.
7 Prudence and Eloquence in Jane Austen's Persuasion.
Part III: Rhetoric and Contemporary Disciplines.
Introduction.
8 Literary Criticism and Rhetorical Invention: Wayne C. Booth's The Rhetoric of Fiction and Stephen Greenblatt's Marvelous Possessions.
9 Faction Politics and Rhetorical Invention: Eugene Garver's For the Sake of Argument and Danielle S. Allen's Talking to Strangers.
10 Legal Reasoning, Historical Contingency, and Change: Edward H. Levi's An Introduction to Legal Reasoning.
Index.
