Abstract
Abstract: Previous attempts to account for Defoe's stylistic versatility have failed to take account of the important role played by his training in rhetoric. Ttiis essay argues that a useful taxonomy of styles can be generated by taking into account traditional rhetorical principles of sentence composition, prose rhythms and clausulae construction, the use of various figures of speech, and the frequency of tropes. This method of analyzing Defoe's prose shows deliberate rhetorical choices in his lesser-known essays and pamphlets as well as in his better-known fiction.