Background Information
What is rhetoric? The term rhetoric itself originally stems from the Greek word rhetor which means orator or speaker. The rhetor is a person who has acquired the theory and technique of the art of oration, which already implies that the principles of rhetoric can be learned. 1 Some working definitions of rhetoric or persuasion are:
- Rhetoric is the art of using language to communicate effectively. 2
- The art of using language, especially public speaking, as a means to persuade. 3
- The art of influencing the thought and conduct of an audience. 4
It is reported that rhetoric, as a distinct art, was born in the 5th century B.C. in the Greek town of Sicily and emerged in answer to a social need. Corax and Tisias were the first to use rhetoric. A rhetorician was then, in the original sense, a man who advised on the most efficient way of presenting a legal case. Corax and Tisias also provided the first definition of the rhetorician: artificer, or producer, of persuasion.
Gorgias, another Greek, came to be known as a Sophist, a rhetorician who travels from town to town making public displays of his rhetoric abilities, attracting students who would pay for their education. He was believed to have introduced the art of rhetoric to ancient Greece. He held the belief that a speaker need not concern himself with the truth of the subject he is speaking about. He taught that words had so much power that rhetoricians could persuade or manipulate others into doing just about anything that they wanted. Socrates, Plato, and also Isocrates were against this thinking and called Gorgias irresponsible. Gorgias was written by Plato to attack Gorgias' views concerning rhetoric. It was written as a conversation between Socrates and four other people: Chaerephon, Callicles, Gorgias, and Polus
After a while, Romans began to make significant contributions to rhetoric. Cicero and Quintilian were two of the most famous rhetoricians. Cicero's De Inventione and the anonymous Rhetorica ad C. Herennium became the most popular books on rhetoric. Both texts are technai, books used by scholars to learn rhetorical skills. They both contain brief and coherent explanations of the main rhetorical doctrine, the three kinds of oratory, the five stages of composition and the parts of speech. 5 Quintilian is best known for his work- Institutio Oratoria. This book gives ways to use rhetorical strategies in the courtroom. It was used in the practice of law by ancient Romans.
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