The similarity between elocution and New Criticism in method of analysis, or hermeneutics, seems patent: because elocutionists taught reading aloud, they necessarily considered a text word by word; New Critics revolutionized literary study through a similar if more sophisticated method of textual analysis, an approach which also necessitated a certain vocalizing of the words. And the two groups were curiously alike in their fumbling attempts to describe the nature of literature, its ontology, as a kind of experience. The progression from elocution to New Criticism actually forms an episode in the ongoing dispersal of rhetoric as an academic subject.

The similarity between elocution and New Criticism in method of analysis, or hermeneutics, seems patent: because elocutionists taught reading aloud, they necessarily considered a text word by word; New Critics revolutionized literary study through a similar if more sophisticated method of textual analysis, an approach which also necessitated a certain vocalizing of the words.And the two groups were curiously alike in their fumbling attempts to describe the nature of literature, its ontology, as a kind of experience.The progression from elocution to New Criticism actually forms an episode in the ongoing dispersal of rhetoric as an academic subject.

The poetry in Donne's sermons is not to be found in sudden flashes of heightened imagery, conspicuous patterns of sound, or unique turns of phrase, qualities often featured when “selected passages” from the sermons are published. It is to be found, rather, in the use Donne made of homiletic form, with an effect the poet-priest himself associated with harmony and beaten gold. The act of achieving this effect, moreover, is not inconsistent with Donne's stated beliefs concerning God's creativity.

The poetry in Donne’s sermons is not to be found in sudden flashes of heightened imagery, conspicuous patterns of sound, or unique turns of phrase, qualities often featured when “selected passages” from the sermons are published. It is to be found, rather, in the use Donne made of homiletic form, with an effect the poet-priest himself associated with harmony and beaten gold. The act of achieving this effect, moreover, is not inconsistent with Donne’s stated beliefs concerning God’s creativity.

236 RHETORICA Ceri Sullivan. The Rhetoric of the Conscience in Donne, Herbert, and Vaughan. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. xiv + 275pp. ISBN 019954784X On her Web page at the University of Bangor, where she is Reader in English, Ceri Sullivan says about her publications, 'Language most shows a man: speak that I may see thee/ Jonson's confi­ dence in his ability to read through the rhetoric is a constant challenge to me in research, and my three monographs have browsed, sheeplike, over this terrain. The first [1995] dealt with whether one may persuade oneself in devotion, focusing on Catholic texts (Dismembered Rhetoric: En­ glish Recusant Writing 1580-1603). The second [2002] mused over how a merchant represents himself and reads others' representations in the real and dramatic markets (The Rhetoric ofCredit: Merchants in Early Mod­ ern Writing). A third asks whether, if the conscience is structured as a language, the consequence of the divine I AM is YOU AREN'T ... The answer to the question posed in the most recent book is this: not necessarily—or even, on the contrary. An effort to reconcile one­ self with God may lead to tears and stylistic excess. But as Sullivan shows, it also may lead to an increased awareness of the human, the other-than-divine, parts of the self. Because actions of the self in prob­ ing its inferiority employed the devices and strategies of language, rhetorical analyses of resulting documents—poetry especially—are deeply revealing about the nature of that self. In dealing with the role of the conscience in Seventeenth Century writing, Sullivan has included in her purview analysis as well as genesis, the actions of interpreting discourse as well as responding to it. In choosing as her chief examples members of what used to be called "the school of Donne," she has picked three for whom the actions of the self in attending to what the poets thought might very well be the voice of God are both problematic and significant. Of these three, Donne has the most complicated relation to the nature of the self, to his own ego—or at least it's fashionable to think so these days when we have several studies adverting to Donne's fear of death as mainly a fear of losing his individuality, his very selfhood among the faceless and innumerable dead. The conscience, so the Seventeenth Century believed, is an innate moral sense planted in our inferiority by God. Because that sense was usually thought of as a voice, the conscience was accordingly structured as a language, and rhetoric figures in it of necessity. Literally so, as Sullivan shows. Rhetoric is present in such devices and strategies as syllogism, snbjectio, enigma, antanaclasis, aposiopesis, 237 Reviews chiasmus, to cite only those named in her chapter heads. These devices and strategies show up in discourse when one confronts, negotiates with, or advises others about that invariably troublesome inner voice. Donne debated with that voice in his poems and as priest overtly addressed the conscience of his parishioners. "Peace pratler, do not lowre" begins Herbert's poem Conscience. Vaughan found his own conscience "darting" and "full of stabs and fears" (The Relapse). "Donne, Herbert, and Vaughan," writes Sullivan, "spend much time peering curiously at their consciences, wondering who it is who is confessing to guilt" (p. 17). But these confrontations with the conscience are not re-examined simply as literary features, certainly not as psychological or moral cu­ riosities. One leaves Sullivan's book having learned as much about rhetoric and intellectual history as about the poetry of this period— perhaps even more about the former than the latter. Protestantism with its emphases on virtually unaided approaches to God and on in­ dividual responsibility toward divine law set the tone for a period in which—for the first time, Sullivan insists—judicial rhetoric was em­ ployed to deal with the conscience, a rhetoric the poems often show breaking down. As indicated, each chapter centers on a particular de­ vice or strategy, in something of the following progression, to skim briefly over the chapters. Stuart manuals described the conscience in legalistic terms; casuists invariably formed their discussions as syllo­ gisms. Torturing the...

John Donne's sermonizing ethos is a masterful creation, incorporating his individuality as poet and priest into a larger identity consonant with his interpretation of Christian doctrine. The role is also consistent with a dense and complicated style that has both troubled and fascinated readers through the centuries. This essay argues that Donne's ethos, while reflecting a penitential stance that has misled some readers, could have been fashioned to reveal his priestly view of Christ, whose image as "Delegate of the Trinity" extends beyond the Gospel into the whole of Scripture and catholic tradition.

Sean Patrick O'Rourke: Introduction On Saturday, November 20, 1993, five historians of rhetoric presented papers on the question, What is the most significant passage on rhetoric in the works of Francis Bacon? The American Society for the History of Rhetoric sponsored the panel, which was part of the Speech Communication Association's 79th annual meeting held in Miami Beach, Florida. Bacon's views on the nature and scope of rhetoric have become increasingly important. As a philosopher, historian, politician, advocate, scientist, and essayist, Bacon was well aware of the cultural uses of rhetoric, and he showed particular concern for the place of rhetoric in liberal education. Moreover, he systematized and promoted his ideas in a forceful, eloquent way. As a result, despite the judgment of many that Bacon made no original contributions to science and offered little that was pivotal in the history of jurisprudence or politics, Bacon has been a central figure in intellectual history. Certainly that remains true today. Bacon's thought is deeply relevant to the ongoing work in the rhetoric of science, his influence as a prose stylist has important implications for those concerned with the essay, and his stature and authority in the field of law make his writings a preface to the contemporary debates on the rhetoric of law. For reasons that will soon become obvious, the papers provoked a lively and enthusiastic discussion when they were presented in Miami. They are presented here in the hope that they will prove equally provocative to the readers of RSQ.

Research Article| May 01 1993 The Rhetoric of Politics in the English Revolution Elizabeth Skerpan, The Rhetoric of Politics in the English Revolution 1642–1660 (Columbia and London: University of Missouri Press, 1992), xiii + 264 pp. Thomas O. Sloane Thomas O. Sloane 8634 American Oak Drive, San Jose, CA 95135-2148, USA Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Rhetorica (1993) 11 (2): 207–209. https://doi.org/10.1525/rh.1993.11.2.207 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Thomas O. Sloane; The Rhetoric of Politics in the English Revolution. Rhetorica 1 May 1993; 11 (2): 207–209. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/rh.1993.11.2.207 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentRhetorica Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright 1993, The International Society for the History of Rhetoric1993 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Theory as Practice: Ethical Inquiry in the Renaissance by Nancy S. Struever.Chicago: U of Chicago P. 1992. xiv + 246 pp. The Rhetoric and Morality of Philosophy by Seth Benardete. Chicago: U of Chicago P. 1991. 205 pp. Signs, Genres, and Communities in Technical Communication by M. Jimmie Killingsworth and Michael K. Gilbertson. Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishing Company, 1992. 257 pp. Rhetoric, Innovation, Technology: Case Studies of Technical Communication in Technology Transfers by Stephen Doheny‐Farina.Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1992; 279 pp. The Great Sophists in Periclean Athens by Jacqueline de Romilly. Trans. Janet Lloyd. Oxford: Clarendon P, 1992. 260 pp. Gaining Ground in College Writing: Tales of Development and Interpretation by Richard H. Haswell. Dallas: Southern Methodist U P. 1991. 412 pp.

Research Article| May 01 1991 Schoolbooks and Rhetoric: Erasmus's Copia Thomas O. Sloane Thomas O. Sloane Department of Rhetoric, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Rhetorica (1991) 9 (2): 113–129. https://doi.org/10.1525/rh.1991.9.2.113 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Thomas O. Sloane; Schoolbooks and Rhetoric: Erasmus's Copia. Rhetorica 1 May 1991; 9 (2): 113–129. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/rh.1991.9.2.113 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentRhetorica Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright 1991, The International Society for the History of Rhetoric1991 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

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