I am still not exactly having the easiest time understanding
the readings and coming up with ideas on my blog. I went onto the website to glance at the blog assignment tab
to see if I could come up with any ideas. I realized after reading the blog
assignment tab that I should probably go over the class goals and see how it
can relate to the reading Cicero, De
Orator. I have come to the conclusion that I should probably be following
the class goals every time I read. But for now I am just going to write about
one point on the class goals, understanding rhetoric as active, and some
examples of how I think it relates the reading De Orator.
If anyone reading this has other
examples or disagrees with mine, the help would be appreciated.
An example of active rhetoric is on page 291 in The Rhetorical Tradition. Cicero
explains in the section "Oratory an attractive but difficult study," how rhetoric
started in Greece. The Greeks learned how to use rhetoric by “naturally
ability and of reflection” and then practice. Cicero goes on to say at the end
of the first column on 291, “But the truth is that this oratory is a greater
thing, and has its sources in more arts and branches of study, than people
suppose.” This sheds light on how you can consider rhetoric active.
When I think of this quote I see rhetoric as a whole made up
of building blocks first started out by the Greeks. Then rhetoric added new
blocks such as medieval, enlightenment, feminist and now modern rhetoric.
Modern rhetoric cannot only be looked at as just speech and writing. You can
argue that when a director of a film puts a certain theme or a specific
location it can add to the main point of the movie. The director does this by
leading your feelings and emotions exactly down the road he or she wants it to
go. You can say the same thing for
art and how the colors of a painting can lead you to believe if the painting is
happy or sad. Major news networks are also masters or rhetoric in my opinion.
For example it is said that certain news networks are politically bias to a
certain party. They use their audience power to play certain news stories
against the candidate of the opposite political party. Ultimately swaying some
people to their side of the political argument.
What have I learned from thinking about how rhetoric can be
active and Cicero’s De Orator? On page 297 – 298 Cicero argues you must know
the facts to be a great orator. One of the facts you must know is, the audience
is the only one you have to convince. Use what they know and feel to guide them
in a direction. Even if you don’t agree with them you have to use what is familiar
to concrete your argument.
When I think about rhetoric being active, I think about how it is constantly changing. It almost seems like it is alive, and then you realize that it is the rhetoricians who are responsible for rhetoric's constant movement. Rhetoric takes the shape of whatever the great rhetorician of the time molds it into. Therefore, it really is active due to constant change.
ReplyDeleteCicero is just one of many rhetoricians who molded rhetoric into yet a new form. He picked up where Aristotle left off. It seemed as though Cicero's aim was to show that in order to be great orator (and therefore a great rhetor) one must master all of the arts and sciences, for these are things he/she will be speaking about.
Rhetoric is so broad a topic, and encompasses so may concepts, that to me, it feels like this very abstract thing that is extremely hard to talk about. For this reason, rhetoric is an intimidating topic. That being said, I am glad we are starting with the basics, going back to the origins of rhetoric. I think it will help us understand rhetoric as it is used today, because the use of rhetoric has grown immensely. No longer is it used only in politics, court, and ceremonies. But observing rhetoric in its infant form is essential to understanding how we can use it efficiently today.