Zizag Stitch

I would define rhetoric as a way of speaking either intelligently, with authority or thoughtfully. Rhetoric is the way of speaking through literature via debate or speech. For example, President Bush does not speak with good rhetoric; however President Clinton spoke with great rhetoric because he was able to get his point across in an effective manner. The dictionary definition from www.dictionary.com is “the study of the effective use of language” and “the ability to use language effectively.”

After reading Herrick’s introduction my perception of rhetoric has changed a little. I had never really thought of rhetoric as negative. I always thought of the definition of rhetoric in a broad way, the way of speaking. I am glad that this reading didn’t change my perception or my definition of rhetoric in a drastic way because I don’t think that I would want to look at the negative aspects of rhetoric, I would rather look at the positive. The article says that we view rhetoric as a way to argue one’s point and convince their audience to agree with them instead of just a way of speaking. I guess one could interpret “a way of speaking” to be a way of persuading or convincing, but I don’t interpret it in that way.

In the “Defining Rhetoric” section George Kennedy defines rhetoric as “the energy inherent in emotion and thought, transmitted through a system of signs, including language, to others to influence their decisions or actions.” This definition shows that rhetoric is used to influence people in some way. If one thinks about it, though, almost any time one talks to a person/audience, have it be telling a story or explaining something, one is trying to convince the person/audience to agree with them even if that person isn’t trying to on purpose.

Herrick defines rhetoric as “the systematic study and intentional practice of effective symbolic expression. Effective here will mean achieving the purpose of the symbol-user, whether that purpose is persuasion, clarity, beauty, or mutual understanding.” I agree with this definition the most because it is broad enough and does not generalize rhetoric as just a way of persuading. The definition does say that rhetoric is a way of arguing, but it also says that rhetoric is a way of making people understand what someone is talking about or explaining. My perception of what we define rhetoric as, has changed because I never really thought of rhetoric as negative. If we didn’t have rhetoric how would we get anything done? Rhetoric is a way of expressing how one feels about something. My definition of rhetoric has changed because I initially thought of rhetoric as speaking with words, but I now think and know that rhetoric is more than that. Rhetoric is a way of speaking through the use of symbols for the use of understanding.