The Importance of Rhetoric as a field of Study
Firstly, what is Rhetoric and how has it helped civilization through out history? before talking about the importance of rhetoric, I need to probe deep into the history of rhetoric and define it before coming to the conclusion on why it is important.
Rhetoric can be traced back to the 19th century in ancient Greek and it was was utilized for the purpose of teaching public speaking. Athens is seen as the birthplace of rhetoric, every free man was already modeled in the form of democracy to be lured into politics, a mans triumph was, intact based on how good he was in the art of public speaking, so he would be able to speak up for or against the legislation. In small schools, rhetoric was then taught as a subject, so that every little boy would grow up, learning more and giving more skill to be an effective rhetoric, and the job of rhetoric
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It was noted in the first paragraph that success was calculated how good you were at rhetoric and up till today this mentality still exists, due to the fact that if you are not a good speaker, no attention would be given to you and you might not be regarded with high importance, you will definitely not get as much recognition as the person with a high rhetorical skill. Political events like campaigns and parliamentary debates, the need for persuasive speaking is needed because the electorates do not want to hear mere words, they do not want to hear what the next guy will say a dozen times also, they just want to be assured that they would be treated well, and the best way to assure them and also to persuade them is by talking with great confidence that commands a lot attention from the electorates, not just any type of attention, but the type of attention that would influence them to get up and vote for
Rhetoric os a form of communication used to persuad people. The The forms of rhetoric are logic, emotion, and crediability. Using ‘Jeff Flake’s Speech on the Senate Floor’ as my example of rhetoric. I will demonstrate how Flake uses rhetoric to get his political party is worng and should change their way of thinking and behavior.
Rhetoric is a way of persuasive wring or speaking, including the use of figures of speech and other writing techniques. An example of a speech that includes Rhetoric would be “The American Crisis Number 1” by Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine was born on January 29th, 1737 in England. Thomas Paine’s writings were very passionate and inspiring, but they also reflected his life. In the speech “The American Crisis Number 1” by Thomas Paine a strong message is delivered to American soldiers through his use of alliteration, personification and antithesis.
As supported by Jay Heinrichs in his book, Thank you For Arguing, rhetoric needs to make a comeback in importance in high school education, as it is a vital skill that could be used in everyday life beyond high school. Rhetoric is an important skill due to the fact that its use could become a constant in our lives. A vast array of rhetorical skills can help a student obtain and keep a job once they land in the working world. A keen eye and ear for rhetoric can be an invaluable tool in obtaining one’s goals in life.
Three reasons that you may need a scuba dive knife is to fight of sea creatures, untangle yourself from fishing nets or seaweed, or to fix equipment.
Rhetoric’s are used in every occurence of our lives whether we are aware of them or not. From the way we greet new ideas and thoughts, to the way we function with already existing notions, regardless, rhetorics have incorporated into our daily life from the first few months of our lives. The dictionary recognizes rhetorical to mean ‘the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.’ What’s the main concept to explore of rhetorics, are the main uses and techniques that are commonly used.
The idea of rhetoric came from Aristotle. This includes three means of persuasion or rhetorical devices: ethos, logos and pathos. Ethos is how well the person is known for their qualities such as reliability, demonstrated skill, authority etc. People will spend their time listening to a well known community leader about important issues but they would not
Often times in daily life, a person will use rhetoric. Whether it’s arguing with a sibling or the sound of an alarm, rhetoric is in use. Rhetoric is effective persuasion and persuasion is swaying someone to do or believe in something. The reason rhetoric is important to be taught in school is because not only does it often show up in daily life but it can show up in the media as well.
Rhetoric seems like a big word but the meaning is simple- persuasion. In the book Julius Caesar, Antony and Brutus, two major characters, are fantastic at persuading the Roman citizens. When one is reading the story, they might think that both have equal amounts but when you look closer, Antony has the better rhetoric strategies. In just a few short sentences, Antony convinced the people to believe that Caesar needed revenge even though he never came out and told them that. Just a couple of minutes ago, the citizens were on Brutus’s side and thought that Caesar needed to go.
In this week’s reading of the “Rhetorical Approaches to College Writing”, the foundations for rhetoric were introduced. The book describes rhetoric as a word with many definitions that all have a commonality. From the reading rhetoric seems to have a way of calling people to action in some distort manner similar to enticement. From the reading three definitions of rhetoric were given by different sources. The first source being from a ancient Greek philosopher who defined rhetoric as, “the faculty of discovering in any particular case all of the available means of persuasion”(RACW pg.3). I learned that for Aristotle the Greek philosopher rhetoric was a means of political engagement in civic life (RACW pg.4). The second source was from another
Rhetoric is something that at least everyone uses in his or her everyday life. Rhetoric can be used in the form of social media, politics and even making the decision on how you are going to communicate. In the Youtube video titled In Defense of Rhetoric: No Longer Just for Liars, Professor, Dr. Ann George states rhetoric as how we persuade each other or how we make arguments. George believes we can do this by the words we use, the gestures we make and the facial appeals that can break down the language and encourage the argument one might be making.
Rhetoric gives you an avenue to tell a story from your perspective in a way that connects with the intended audience without having to be one hundred percent substantiated. This writing style is evident in almost everything we read from billboards to Internet ads and even political speeches.
Imagine discovering the cure for cancer, and then tossing the revolutionary discovery into a blaze of fire. This obliteration has happened to rhetoric, a tool of language that donates life to argument and creates a thriving system of communication for the world. Rhetoric used to be an important aspect of education that could assist students with the teachings of argument and human interaction. Today, rhetoric has become a topic of minimal discussion among ideas that have long since been outdated, and considered archaic to the educational system. In reality, rhetoric exemplifies the human genius and must be taught in schools to further the evolution of human expression.
Rhetoric has the capability to change their future boss’s perception of their character by building their credibility or ethos. (Heinrich) Rhetoric is also important for trying to persuade somebody a point or idea by using the environment around any given situation. Imagine a young couple strolling along the beach at night. The man gets on his knees to “Tie his shoes” when in actuality he is grabbing a small black box from his pants. The young lady looks back to see him kneeling and looking at her with his eyes full of confidence, but behind these eyes this young stallion is scared beyond his worst nightmares. “What if she says no? What if she says yes? Am I prepared for this next step? Does she really love me?” All these thoughts are crossing his mind in a split second that feels like an agonizing eternity filled with tension so thick you could cut it with a butter knife. However, this man is rhetorically strong; he realizes that the longer this tension continues the harder it may be for her, or even him, to say yes. So, he changes everything by simply smiling and pretending to laugh at how corny this is (even though subconsciously he knows the irony of the
“Now I've been free, I know what a dreadful condition slavery is. I have seen hundreds of escaped slaves, but I never saw one who was willing to go back and be a slave” explained, Harriet Tubman. Slaves were affected by slavery, it still affects today because it is still happening in India and South America. It happened more in the past but is still happening in the today. African Americans were slaves because they were different skin color and were thought to be lesser than white Americans. This is important because the past effects on how things are looked at today.
Guillaume de Machaut was a French composer and poet that was prevalent in the 14th century and is known for being one of founders of the Ars Nova musical style. The Ars Nova musical style is characterized as being the integration of complex rhythms and polyphony of secular music, and its genre is translated into ‘New Art.’ Overall this type of music is known for the advancements made toward rhythmic notation, which was greatly criticized at the time by the church. Furthermore, Gullaume de Machaut was born in the 1300’s in was born in the village of Machault in Champagne, near Reims, France. Nothing is known for certain about his family or social status, except for the fact that he had a brother named Jean, who also became a canon of Reims cathedral. In his early years, Machaut was first working as a cleric in the household of King John of Bohemia, but was eventually promoted to the position of secretary in 1323. While in the service of King John, Machaut had the opportunity to travel to places such as Poland, Lithuania, Italy, and Prussia as the king was often involved in military campaigns. He was first able to become involved with music when he accompanied the King John as a trouvère, which can be considered a court musician or poet. At this point in his life he had the opportunity to write poems and songs regarding love and even sought out several woman while doing so. King John was a prominent figure in the 14th century as he was the son of a German emperor and was