Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student

Description

Widely used in advanced composition and writing courses, Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student discusses the three vital components of classical rhetoric--argument, arrangement, and style--bringing these elements to life and demonstrating their effective use in yesterday's and today's writing. Presenting its subject in five parts, the text provides grounding in the elements and applications of classical rhetoric; the strategies and tactics of argumentation; the effective presentation and organization of discourses; the development of power, grace, and felicity in expression; and the history of rhetorical principles. Numerous examples of classic and contemporary rhetoric, from paragraphs to complete essays, appear throughout the book, many followed by detailed analyses.
The fourth edition of Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student features a new section on the Progymnasmata (classical composition exercises), a new analysis of a color advertisement in the Introduction, an updated survey of the history of rhetoric, and an updated section on "External Aids to Invention."

Table of Contents

Preface
I. INTRODUCTION
Rhetorical Analysis of a Magazine Ad
Homer, " The Envoys Plead with Achilles"
Analysis of "The Envoys Plead with Achilles"
A Brief Explanation of Classical Rhetoric
The Five Canons of Rhetoric
The Three Kinds of Persuasive Discourse
The Relevance and Importance of Rhetoric for Our Times
II. DISCOVERY OF ARGUMENTS
Formulating a Thesis
The Three Modes of Persuasion
The Appeal to Reason
Principles of Definition
Other Methods of Definition
The Syllogism
The Enthymeme
The Example
The Fallacies
The Ethical Appeal
The Emotional Appeal
The Topics
The Common Topics
Special Topics
Manuel Bilsky, McCrea Hazlett, Robert E. Streeter, and Richard M. Weaver: "Looking for an Argument"
Richard L. Larson: "A Plan for Teaching Rhetorical Invention"
External Aids to Invention
Biography
Books of Quotations and Concordances
Biblical Concordances
Indexes to Periodicals
Other Periodical Indexes
Handbooks
Dictionaries
Other Specialized Dictionaries
Bibliographies
Some Bibliographical Guides to Various Disciplines
Annual Bibliographies
Syntopicon
An Illustration of the Use of the Search Strategy
Readings
Rachel Carson: "The Obligation to Endure"
Topical Analysis of Rachel Carson's "The Obligation to Endure"
Socrates' Apology
Analysis of the Topics in "Socrates' Apology"
Obituary for Katharine Sergeant White
An Analysis of the Topics in Katherine Sergeant White's Obituary
James Madison: "The Federalist, No. 10"
Mark Ashin: "The Argument of Madison's 'Federalist, #10'"
Edmund Burke: "Letter to a Noble Lord"
Thomas Henry Huxley: "Science and Culture"
Matthew Arnold: "Literature and Science"
III. ARRANGEMENT OF MATERIAL
The Parts of a Discourse
Introduction
Statement of Fact
Confirmation
Refutation
Conclusion
Concluding Remarks on Arrangement
Readings
Thomas A. Sancton, "Planet of the Year"
Analysis of the Arrangement in Thomas A. Sancton's "Planet of the Year"
Martin Luther King, Jr.: "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
Analysis of the Arrangements of "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
Henry David Thoreau: "Civil Disobedience"
IV. STYLE
Grammatical Competence
Choice of Diction
An Adequate Vocabulary
Purity, Propriety, and Precision of Diction
Composition of the Sentence
Study of Style
Kind of Diction
Length of Sentences
Kinds of Sentences
Variety of Sentence Patterns
Sentence Euphony
Articulation of Sentences
Figures of Speech
Paragraphing
A Student Report on a Study of Style
Figures of Speech
The Schemes
The Tropes
Concluding Remarks on the Figures of Speech
Imitation
Testimonies about the Value of Imitation
Rollo Walter Brown: "How the French Boy Learns to Write
Exercises in Imitation
Readings
Hugh Blair: "Critical Examination of the Style of Mr. Addison in No. 411 of The Spectator
John F. Kennedy: "Inaugural Address"
The Editors of The New Yorker: "John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address"
Analysis of the Style of John F. Kennedy's "Inaugural Address"
A Paragraph by Virginia Woolf to be Analyzed for Style
An Analysis of the Style of the Paragraph by Virginia Woolf
Analysis of Style as Persuasion in the "Letter from Birmingham Jail by Richard P. Fulkerson
V. THE PROGYMNASMATA
A Sequence of Assignments
VI. A SURVEY OF RHETORIC
Classical Rhetorics
Rhetoric During the Middle Ages
Some Continental Rhetoricians
English Vernacular Rhetorics of the Sixteenth Century
English Rhetorics of the Seventeenth Century
English Rhetorics of the Eighteenth Century
Rhetoric in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
Bibliography
Index