In defence of rhetoric.

Vickers, Brian, 1937-

Published by Oxford, New York: Clarendon Press ; Oxford University Press, 1988

About this Item

very good dust-jacket, mild fold mark on rear panel, very good dark blue cloth. VICKERS, BRIAN. In defence of rhetoric. Oxford, New York: Clarendon Press ; Oxford University Press, 1988, xi, 508pp., . A spirited effort to restore the importance of rhetoric, this book examines its early development in the classical era, its triumph during the Renaissance, and its subsequent decline. While acknowledging rhetoric's general loss of prestige, the author asserts its value in modern times as an indispensable vehicle for style and thought in the work of Joyce, Orwell, Jarrell, and others, and concludes by surveying rhetoric's fragmentation and misapplication in the current critical theories of such thinkers as Jakobson and de Man. - CONTENTS: An outline of classical rhetoric -- Rhetoric and life -- The major texts -- The main processes of rhetoric -- The three genres -- The stages of composition -- The parts of a speech -- The orator's three duties -- The three styles -- Plato's attack on rhetoric -- Territorial disputes: philosophy versus rhetoric -- Responses to Plato -- The triumph of rhetoric -- The revenge of philosophy -- Medieval fragmentation -- Renaissance reintegration -- The expressive function of rhetorical figures -- Rhetoric and the sister arts -- Rhetoric and the modern novel -- Epilogue: the future of rhetoric. 9780198128373 ISBN 0198128371. Seller Inventory # 97981

Bibliographic Details

Title: In defence of rhetoric.

Publisher: Oxford, New York: Clarendon Press ; Oxford University Press, 1988

Binding: Hardcover

Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included