There are 5 Canons within the classical rhetorical pedagogy: Invention, Arrangement, Style, Memory and Delivery.
Invention is derivative from the Latin, invenire, to find, and is primarily concerned with finding something to say. It refers to what the author says, rather than how he says it. This phase of writing can present the most difficulty and consume the most time, but is foundational. Obviously, no matter how well you say a thing, if substance is lacking, your eloquence is wasted.
Arrangement is the process of ordering your thoughts, arguments, or appeals in a logical and coherent way. The arrangement of a Classical Oration would follow this pattern:
1) Introduction (exordium) - The writer convinces the audience to listen to what he has to say, which requires an ethical appeal to authority...either the writer's own, or those whom he will use to defend his position. The persuasive appeal to authority is called ethos.
2) Statement of Facts (narratio) - Set it up...tell the story.
3) Division (partitio) - The author reveals the charge, accusation, or problem and lets his audience know what is coming in the rest of the oration.
4) Proof (confirmatio) - Exactly what it sounds like...the setting forth of what is true and why...arguing for your view.
5) Refutation (refutatio) - Again, the name reveals all...arguing against opposing views.
#'s 2-5 constitute the "Body" of the paper and use persuasive appeals to reason, called logos.
6) Conclusion (peroratio/epilogos) - The author uses an emotional appeal, pathos, to get his audience to "come over to his side."
Style ,as you might guess, refers to how the thing is said..."the artful expression of ideas." This is the primary aspect commonly associated with rhetoric, but it is only one of several considerations...but one not to be neglected. Refining stylistic techniques assumes that form is as essential as content in communication. Usually three areas are considered when stylizing an oration.
1) The Virtues of Style - Lists vary from 3-7 "encompassing concerns." The 3, kairos, audience and decorum, cover the concerns nicely. Kairos: Where and when will the oration be given? Audience: Who will be listening and to what end? (judicial, legislative or ceremonial) Decorum: What is appropriate to say and how can it best be said? In other words, the writing is tailored for its listeners.
2) The Levels of Style - In the Roman tradition, one of three styles was followed depending on the purpose of the speech. These "branches of oratory" are: 1) Judicial: deals with the justice or injustice of a past act. 2) Legislative: attempts to persuade or dissuade as worthy or unworthy for the future. 3) Ceremonial: praises or blames a virtue or vice in the present.
3) The Quality of Style - The quality of an oration consists in its ornamentation...the word choices, tropes, figures of speech or figures of description employed to communicate the ideas. Soon, I will spend a number of posts defining and providing examples for several of these figures of description from quality literature.
Memory refers to the obvious aspect of becoming so thoroughly familiar with your writing (for oration), that you can easily recall it. However, it also carries the idea of being widely learned so that you can call to mind - from memory - appropriate analogies, examples, details, correlations, etc. Here the orator also considers what will cement his ideas in the mind of his audience. (note the past, present, future nature of these aspects of memory...)
Delivery, effective delivery anyway, requires a bit of acting...vocal inflection, facial expressions, bodily gestures all become important in maximizing effect. The presence of this in the 5 Canons reminds us of the oral nature of rhetoric...the written word is often prepared for public hearing. It has been said that, "Winston Churchill could never have stirred the British public as he did were it not for the grave, serious, and controlled tone of voice that he employed in his radio speeches. His faith in the allied powers rang out in stentorian cadences that by their very vibrations instilled belief in the masses. His message was often cliche, but his delivery was never anything but spell-binding. Had he had a feeble voice, perhaps Germany would have fared better."
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