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Classic Rhetoric for the Modern Student » (4th Edition)

Book cover image of Classic Rhetoric for the Modern Student by Edward P. J. Corbett

Authors: Edward P. J. Corbett, Robert J. Connors, Robert J. Connors
ISBN-13: 9780195115420, ISBN-10: 0195115422
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Date Published: August 1998
Edition: 4th Edition

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Author Biography: Edward P. J. Corbett

Ohio State University

University of New Hampshire

Book Synopsis

Widely used in advanced composition and writing courses, Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student discusses the three vital components of classical rhetoric—argument, arrangement, and style—bringing these elements to life and demonstrating their effective use in yesterday's and today's writing. Presenting its subject in five parts, the text provides grounding in the elements and applications of classical rhetoric; the strategies and tactics of argumentation; the effective presentation and organization of discourses; the development of power, grace, and felicity in expression; and the history of rhetorical principles. Numerous examples of classic and contemporary rhetoric, from paragraphs to complete essays, appear throughout the book, many followed by detailed analyses.
The fourth edition of Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student features a new section on the Progymnasmata (classical composition exercises), a new analysis of a color advertisement in the Introduction, an updated survey of the history of rhetoric, and an updated section on "External Aids to Invention."

Table of Contents

Preface
IIntroduction1
Rhetorical Analysis of a Magazine Ad2
Homer: "The Envoys Plead with Achilles"6
A Brief Explanation of Classical Rhetoric15
The Five Canons of Rhetoric17
The Three Kinds of Persuasive Discourse23
The Relevance and Importance of Rhetoric for Our Times24
IIDiscovery of Arguments27
Formulating a Thesis27
The Three Modes of Persuasion31
The Topics84
Manuel Bilsky, McCrea Hazlett, Robert E. Streeter, and Richard M. Weaver: "Looking for an Argument"130
Richard L. Larson: "A Plan for Teaching Rhetorical Invention"137
External Aids to Invention141
An Illustration of the Use of the Search Strategy174
Readings184
Rachel Carson: "The Obligation to Endure"185
Socrates' Apology195
Obituary of Katharine Sergeant White209
James Madison: "The Federalist, No. 10"214
Edmund Burke: "Letter to a Noble Lord"230
Thomas Henry Huxley: "Science and Culture"237
Matthew Arnold: "Literature and Science"245
IIIArrangement of Material256
The Parts of a Discourse259
Concluding Remarks on Arrangement291
Readings292
Thomas A. Sanction: "Planet of the Year"292
Martin Luther King, Jr.: "Letter from Birmingham Jail"301
Henry David Thoreau: "Civil Disobedience"320
IVStyle337
Grammatical Competence339
Choice of Diction341
Composition of the Sentence354
Study of Style359
Figures of Speech377
Imitation411
Readings448
Hugh Blair: "Critical Examination of the Style of Mr. Addison in No. 411 of The Spectator"448
John F. Kennedy: "Inaugural Address"459
A Paragraph by Virginia Woolf To Be Analyzed for Style472
Analysis of Style as Persuasion in the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Richard P. Fulkerson478
VThe Progymnasmata484
A Sequence of Assignments485
VIA Survey of Rhetoric489
Classical Rhetorics489
Rhetoric During the Middle Ages497
Some Continental Rhetoricians499
English Vernacular Rhetorics of the Sixteenth Century501
English Rhetorics of the Seventeenth Century505
English Rhetorics of the Eighteenth Century511
Rhetoric in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries517
Bibliography544
Index556

Subjects