During ancient and medieval times, classical rhetoric was strictly defined in one of three ways: deliberative oratory, forensic oratory, or epideictic oratory. I prefer to call these 3 kinds of classical discourse by their function: political, legal, and ceremonial speeches. Although these are ancient forms of communication, they are still practiced effectively today in the public realm. Here’s a quick primer for you:

Political Oratory

The term “deliberative” oratory originates with usage; elite orators deliberated over public affairs such as whether to go to war, whether to raise taxes, whether to enter alliances, and whether to construct infrastructure like bridges and baths. The point of deliberative (political) oratory was to persuade the audience to do something or accept a certain point of view. Concerned with the future (either we will or will not do it), political orators focused on expediency (the opportunity is now…let’s do it) and inexpediency (it is not wise or prudent to take this action) by exhorting (strongly urging) and dissuading (advising against) the audience.

Deliberative oratory is still practiced today in the U.S. Capitol, the White House, and in state and municipal centers around the country. Home school teenagers who participate in local, regional, and national debate competitions engage in deliberative oratory as they seek to persuade the judge to adopt either the affirmative or negative position.

Legal Oratory

The term “forensic” is often used in relation to crime scene evidence, but the latin root of forensic is actually “forum” which was the central gathering place in ancient cities where judicial and public business was discussed. Public speakers who delivered forensic or legal oratory were usually advocated the defense or condemnation of individuals and their related actions. Unlike deliberative or political orators, forensic orators are concerned with the past. That past could be crimes committed, charges unjustly brought, or behavior that needs public reckoning. Topics most often addressed were justice and injustice by means of accusation or defense.

Today’s forensic oratory is most often heard in courtrooms as attorneys plead the cases of their clients before judges. In fact, law schools still consistently teach a variation of this classical discourse.

Ceremonial Oratory

Epideictic, a greek derivative, means “for display,” so it shouldn’t surprise you that I choose to call this type of classical discourse “ceremonial.” Demonstrative or declamatory in nature, the ceremonial speech intended to please, to inspire, to entertain, or to shame. Concerned with the present, topics most often included honor or dishonor. The means by which the ceremonial orator got his message across were either praise or blame. The nature of the speech lends it to literary style more so than the other two kinds of classical discourse.

Although politicians often find themselves using this speech when introducing their superiors (praise) or their rivals (blame), we most often hear this kind of discourse at celebrations like Fourth of July Parades, Memorial Day Services, and other public ceremonies. Pastors often employ this style even though they also use the deliberative discourse to encourage their congregation to do the right thing. The Gettysburg Address is a contemporary example of a ceremonial speech.

Summary

The three kinds of classical discourse are:

Political Oratory:

1. The Point: to persuade for action or inaction
2. Concern: the future
3. Topics: expedient and inexpedient
4. Means: exhortation and dissuasion

Legal Oratory:

1. The Point: to defend or condemn
2. Concern: the past
3. Topics: justice and injustice
4. Means: accusation and defense

Ceremonial Oratory:

1. The Point: to please, inspire, entertain, or shame
2. Concern: the present
3. Topics: honor and dishonor
4. Means: praise and blame

If you think about who delivered these 3 types of classical discourse and what positions they held in society, you quickly see that they were all societal leaders. Politicians, legislators, executives, lawyers, judges, pastors, and others of importance to the community employed the systematic tools of classical rhetoric to impact their culture in significant ways. If you hope to raise leaders, then you need to consider how classical rhetoric factors into your plans for teaching them in communicating effectively.

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As I briefly mentioned in “Could You Define Classical Rhetoric?“, rhetoric is the art of oratory. Today we generally refer to oratory as “public speaking” or “speech;” however, I think you’ll agree that the principles of rhetoric can be appropriately applied to written communication like essays, research papers, and even journalism articles. Other than impromptu speeches, which happen on the spur of the moment with limited preparation time, most contemporary speeches start with a written script or at least an outline of the speaker’s (1) idea or claim, (2) proof or evidence, and (3) call to action. So for our purposes, I’ll define rhetoric as

a system for gathering, selecting, arranging, and expressing our material whether in oral or written form

Remember that rhetoric is one of the 7 liberal arts of ancient Rome. If you were to examine the other 6 liberal arts (language, logic, geometry, astronomy, music theory, and arithmetic), you would realize that each of these arts involves a system for gathering, selecting, arranging, and expressing the material.

Let’s modernize this concept. You could probably list a vast number of “arts” that also involve a system for accumulating, organizing, and presenting the material. For instance, the “art of cooking” involves deciding on the recipe, gathering the ingredients, combining the ingredients in a certain measure and order, cooking the mixture, arranging the final presentation, and serving the delightful dish to the audience. In a nutshell, the chef has concocted an idea, presented evidence to prove her idea, and announced a call to action: “eat and enjoy!” The art of gardening, the art sewing, and the art of singing are just three examples which follow a similar pattern of idea, proof, and call to action. Likewise, the master writer or orator develops an idea, presents the evidence, and calls the audience to action.

In other words, rhetoric for the classical home school is not a stage of educational progress, but rather a set of procedures and criteria that guide the author or orator in making strategic decisions during the composition process. During ancient and medieval times, this system was tightly defined as 3 kinds of persuasive discourse (deliberative, forensic, and epideictic oratory) which are the subjects of my next post.

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Have you watched my parent tutorial yet on “The 7 Laws of Teaching?” It’s just a little over 30 minutes in length and full of practical teaching tips that I have used in my own home school. You’ll learn a little history to put the 7 laws in context as well as assess your own expertise in the areas of teaching language, critical thinking, and communicating well. Click on parent tutorial image in the upper right corner of this page now, and the flash presentation will begin right away.

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