Rhetoric has gotten an undeservedly bad rap in recent
decades. The only ways most people know the word are derogatory:
a question where no answer is expected is a rhetorical
question, and politicians who are all talk and no action are
using empty rhetoric. But the ancient art of rhetoric,
one of the seven liberal arts, deserves more respect than
Rhetoric, simply stated, is the art of persuasion using
language to convince or sway an audience or the study of that
art. Able rhetoricians, including good writers and good lawyers,
know how to make their points effectively, by arranging their
arguments and choosing the appropriate language in which to
Classical rhetoricians divided the
field into several varieties:
Those who study rhetoric have classified many hundreds of figures of speech, sometimes strictly
ornamental, but often concerned with achieving certain effects.
Many of them are used only by professional rhetoricians
(erotesis, hypophora, epidiorthosis), and
you needn't worry about them. But others are handy means of
describing uses of literary language. See the entries in this
- Deliberative rhetoric, the art of persuading an
audience to take (or not to take) some action think of
senators addressing their peers, or lobbyists addressing their
- Forensic rhetoric, the art of making a persuasive case
in a legal matter, as when a lawyer argues for or against an
- Epideictic rhetoric, the use of powerfully affective
language to praise or blame someone or something most odes are epideictic oratory, as are most
From the Guide to Literary Terms by Jack Lynch.
Please send comments to Jack Lynch.
Note: This guide is still in the early stages of development.
Three question marks mean I have to write more on the subject. Bear with me.