July 2005

1. Jul 2005
   The Plain Style in the Seventeenth Century: Gender and the History of Scientific Discourse ↗
   Denise Tillery
   Abstract

   This article analyzes the statements on plain style made by Royal Society writers and seventeenth-century women writers. Using scholarship in feminist rhetorical theory, the article concludes that Royal Society plain stylists constructed scientific discourse as a masculine form of discourse by purging elements that were associated with femininity, such as emotional appeals. The article also discusses how women writers, particularly Margaret Cavendish, embraced a plain style more out of concern for their audience than out of a desire to eliminate undesirable feminine attributes. The implications of this historical study for understanding of current practice are noted.

   modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism discourse analysis feminist rhetorics voice and style gender and writing
   doi:10.2190/mrqq-k2u6-ltqu-0x56