English 5361: Week 10 Post – Enlightenment
One of the movements in the field of Rhetoric during the Enlightenment period was the ill-fated Elocutionism. This movement moved Rhetoric far afield from the views of Aristotle and other who included invention of arguments as part of Rhetoric. Elocutionism focused on presentation. According to Herrick, this was an ultimately practical movement, focusing on the "performance side of rhetoric" and on "rhetoric's use as a method for refining the public manners, poise, and expressiveness of men and women" (p 180).
Rhetoric seems to move in circles from an art of display to invention to display to invention, continuing endlessly. The Elocutionary movement was one of those movements of display. Perhaps not the proudest stage in Rhetorical History, but it was there. And, when people say of politicians "that is only empty rhetoric," it may be a reference to one of these periods of display.
For the scope of this movement, Rhetoric was more like acting than the Rhetoric of old. "Good delivery was intimately connected with convincing the audience of the urgency and truthfulness of one's message" (Herrick, p 181). This statement perhaps sums up the Elocutionary movement. Presentation is key to acceptance and may perhaps be more important than content. How do you think that this performance Rhetoric impacted today's Rhetors or at least the perception of today's Rhetors?
Rhetoric seems to move in circles from an art of display to invention to display to invention, continuing endlessly. The Elocutionary movement was one of those movements of display. Perhaps not the proudest stage in Rhetorical History, but it was there. And, when people say of politicians "that is only empty rhetoric," it may be a reference to one of these periods of display.
For the scope of this movement, Rhetoric was more like acting than the Rhetoric of old. "Good delivery was intimately connected with convincing the audience of the urgency and truthfulness of one's message" (Herrick, p 181). This statement perhaps sums up the Elocutionary movement. Presentation is key to acceptance and may perhaps be more important than content. How do you think that this performance Rhetoric impacted today's Rhetors or at least the perception of today's Rhetors?
posted by Jessica Badger at
5:00 PM
3 Comments:
Jessica,
I think you tap into several great points about elecutionism. In a way, it reminds me of the Sophist movement because the emphasis is only delivery and performance----not necessarily content or implication. I believe that this is coming in waves: some rhetors are concerned with presentation/strategies only (Aristotle, the Sophists), some are concerned with the use of rhetoric only (Plato), and some are concerned with both. Ultimately, I don’t know that one can really be prized over the other. For me, good content has always gone hand-in-hand with good form/presentation. I’ve sometimes wondered why speech wasn’t housed under the tech com umbrella across the board. I don’t think form and purpose have to be at odds, but rather than can be compliments to one another. I think we have seen this with Cicero, and, perhaps more so with Augustine: he was concerned both with effective delivery and with spreading truths/enhancing knowledge (at least under the Christian scope).
Cris
Certainly the current president and George W. Bush are two examples of where delivery and performance still make a significant difference in the speaker's ethos on the highest levels. W, as with many of the Tea Party folks stumbling around today, can't seem to deliver their rhetoric effectively, particularly off the cuff, which creates the perception that they are stupid. Obama can make a backyard barbecue seem important, through flawless rhetorical delivery, and seems eminently brilliant in the process. Both of those perceptions of their brainpower might be true, or might not, but I think at least part of my evaluation of their intelligence is interwoven within delivery and performance.
We are still using elocution, aren't we, in many ways? Where does new criticism and formalism come into play in composition, for instance?
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