By Gabe Guerrero ’08, senior Rhetoric major

“What is rhetoric”? “Rhetoric” is probably regarded by many as one of the vaguest terms in the English language. Defining what rhetoric truly is, is a rather difficult task. Rhetoric is a conglomeration of art and style, mixed with content and technique. In explaining and using the term, some would favor the art and style, while others would emphasize content and technique.  I, however, view it as an accumulation of the two aspects and designed to educate and influence another, a party, or even society.

Content and technique are important in rhetoric because they encompass the theory and analytical portion of rhetoric, the very meaning and point one would attempt to get across. For instance, the text of a song represents “content” in this rhetorical meaning. The text acts as the concrete artifact that would influence a person or audience through its words and their meanings. The second half of the meaning, the art and style, attract the audience’s attention to better illustrate the artifact. For example, the person performing the song would use their artistry—expressed through their singing and the musical accompaniments—to attract listeners, which in turn reflects the style used to communicate the meaning of the artifact. By using art and style one can accomplish their goals by forms of persuasion and/or discourse. These two aspects combined work together to form rhetoric.

Rhetoric, for me, ultimately comes down to this very idea. By partly analyzing the content and technique of English language and other forms of communication, along with mastering the art and style of discourse and interaction, one can educate or influence a person, an audience, or even society with rhetoric.