Friday, August 17, 2007

Rhetoric VII: ProgymnasmataTheory - Stages 1-2

Let me back up before I expound on particular Figures of Description and explain a bit more about "Classical Composition" theory and specifically the Progymnasmata.

Problem: Writers trained under modern composition theory produce an abundance of faulty grammar and logical fallacies, while their style is characterized by an absence of elegance. We often frustrate our students by asking them to perform tasks for which they have not been adequately prepared, or which cut against their bent for learning at a particular stage.

Premise: Good composition must be driven by both the intellect and the imagination. Plausible, well-organized information/plot/argument, coupled with a winsome presentation, draw your audience in and increase the likelihood that you will actually be heard.

Purpose: To learn to engage the audience's imagination through vivid, effective images created through words. To teach students to isolate an idea/image in their minds and describe it with words. To develop logical thinking and rhetorical structures in the mind.

Pedagogy: From about the 3rd-4th grade through the 9th or 10th grades, teachers strive to lay the foundation for logical and rhetorical structures which will be necessary for the final 2-3 years of Aristotle's Rhetoric.

Progymnasmata Stages 1 and 2:
Fable: imitate and amplify
Mode: paraphrasing
Means: 
Figures of Description - isolate and describe an image
Recognition - identify points of discovery or delight in the story
Reversal - when the proud are humbled or the low are exalted
Paraphrasing - choosing word and phrase synonyms; sentence variety
Outline - deconstruct story
Retell - reconstruct story from outline
Teaches: Many ways to say the same thing.
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Narrative: imitate, uncover truth, amplify, abbreviate
Mode: paraphrasing
Means: Same as Fable, plus...
Identify 6 Essential elements (AKA: 6 Historical questions)
Agent - who?
Action - what?
Time - when?
Place - where?
Manner - how?
Cause - why?
Outline: deconstruct story
Retell: reconstruct from outline
Condense - eliminate all unnecessary data
Expand - add elements to story using Figures of Description
Alter Sequence - tell backwards or from the middle
Change Viewpoint - tell from a character's point of view, etc.
Teaches: Many ways to tell the same story.
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So there you have a summary of the first 2 of 14 stages...I just realized I have been awake for 22 hours. I think I'll retire for a couple and finish this later!

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