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E211: British Literature to 1760 A Guide to Classical Rhetoric Alfred J. Drake. Office: Hum. 520 | W 3-4 | ajdrake@ajdrake.com Richard Kroll, UCI 1. Functions of Rhetoric/Types of Discourse: a) Deliberative: This branch engages with two major areas: questions of the worthy (dignitas) or the good (bonum); questions of action, the expedient, the useful (utilitas). b) Judicial or Forensic: This "legal" branch deals with the following: questions of right and wrong; legal evidence; guilt and innocence. c) Ceremonial or Epideictic: Here, the motive is to praise what is already praise- worthy rather than to persuade the audience to the right course of action. 2. The Types of Appeal: a) Logical (logos) b) Ethical (ethos) c) Emotional (pathos) 3. The Divisions of the Standard Oration: Exordium: a leading into, "beginning a web"--examine the opening of Philip Sidney's Defense of Poesy. Narratio: a statement of fact, especially in forensic oratory; this is where the speaker sets forth the facts of the case to be decided. Confirmatio or Probatio: the body of the argument, where the author really gets down to business. Refutatio: deals with possible objections. Peroratio: closes the argument--leaves the audience with a good opinion of the speaker; amplifies the force of points made previously; rouses the appropriate emotions in the audience; restates/summarizes the main points of the speech. ------------------- The Divisions of Classical Rhetoric Richard Kroll, UCI Narratio: Stating the facts of the case; situating the audience with regard to the problem at hand. "In Six Centuries of Literary Hits, John Smith calls attention once again to Milton's anti-feminism." Bottom line--what is the point? Propositio: Stating the thesis. "Resolved: Smith is wrong." Bottom line--Could the argument be clearer? Partitio: Dividing up the main problem into smaller sections. "Smith has always read badly; he skips Book IV of Paradise Lost and the divorce tracts; he himself tried to write a great British religious epic and failed; he beats his third wife. Bottom line--Are the divisions made logically? Confirmatio: Proving your argument and its support. "Moreover, Smith has not even read the divorce tracts; at least, he has not read them carefully," etc. Bottom line--Prove it! Refutatio: Refuting opponent's arguments; discussing counterpoints. "Indeed, the divorce tracts show signs of what Smith calls anti-feminism, but Milton is simply trying in these tracts to accommodate a skeptical audience." Bottom line--But what about . . . ? Peroratio: Concluding; summing up; leaving the audience with favorable impressions and appropriate emotions; amplifying points made. "Smith is trying to hand Milton a bad rap that is bound to muddy our understanding of his time and his writings. Smith keeps us from reading the author of Paradise Lost fairly; Milton was no monster." Bottom line--So what?
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