Expression and Sympathy in Walter Pater, Oscar Wilde, and Kenneth Burke

Rhetoric Review Jan 2021

Expression and Sympathy in Walter Pater, Oscar Wilde, and Kenneth Burke

William Schraufnagel

Abstract

As corrective to rhetorical theorists who disparage “expression,” the following article analyzes Walter Pater, Oscar Wilde, and Kenneth Burke on “expression” and its communicative counterpart “sympathy.” Pater viewed ideal style as a unity of expression and sympathy. Wilde saw Christ as the singular representative of absolute expression and sympathy. Burke resolved both expression and sympathy into the “compromise” of the symbol. I advocate for a return to expression and sympathy as rhetorical values in the twenty-first century.

Journal: Rhetoric Review
Published: 2021-01-02
DOI: 10.1080/07350198.2020.1841457
Open Access: Closed
Topics: rhetorical theory

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