Rhetoric Review Jan 2008

The Seduction of Samuel Butler: Rhetorical Agency and the Art of Response

Jodie Nicotra University of Idaho

Abstract

Using the Victorian writer Samuel Butler's response to Darwin's Origin of Species as an example, I argue for a method of reading characterized by the process of fascination and seduction. Such an antimethodical method not only requires a different kind of agency on the part of the reader, but it also resituates rhetoric as an art of response to the dynamic flux of the communicating world.

Journal
Rhetoric Review
Published
2008-01-04
DOI
10.1080/07350190701738825
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Topics
modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism editorial matter
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