The five canons or principles of classical rhetoric form a template for developing and critiquing speeches and written compositions. In canon one, INVENTION, the orator or writer determines the debatable idea, discovers the logical arguments, and develops the thesis for his speech or essay. Canon two, ARRANGEMENT, divides the speech or essay into the following parts: an introduction, a statement of facts, an outline, the proof, the refutation, and the conclusion. The third canon, STYLE, was known as elocutio (from loqui “to speak”), and of the five canons, style is the most difficult to define since each orator or writer expresses a unique creative energy. Breathtaking style is one of those nebulous things that is challenging to describe, but you know it when you see it! If invention is what you say, and arrangement is how you organize what you say, then style is how you say it.

What is your Purpose?

Ancient orators defined three levels of style: (1) low or plain, (2) middle or forcible, and (3) high or florid. In preparing the speech, the orator first decided his purpose. Was he going to instruct in the debatable idea? If so, he chose to use the low or plain style with his apprentices or students. His relationship with these individuals was more intimate, and there was no need to impress with sophisticated language or creative pleas. The instructional speech was more like a conversation in that practical information was passed along using normal, everyday language.

Perhaps the orator wanted to persuade an audience to act for the public good or judge a defendant as in political or legal speeches. In that case, he would choose the middle or forcible style of communication. An orator delivering a persuasive speech would probably speak to a larger audience which would have included many members whom he did not personally know or some who may have been enemies. The language for such an audience and purpose would be particular to the specific points of the debatable idea. Urging the audience to adopt his position, the skilled orator would choose convincing words and figures of speech such as metaphors and similes to coax his audience to his point of view.

Finally, many ceremonial occasions demanded oratory. Public holidays, religious festivals, weddings, funerals, and graduations require a lighter touch than the persuasive speech. Themes such as honor, patriotism, and faithfulness might be expounded. For such events, the orator would choose language to charm and entertain.

How will you Arrange the Words?

Which words will you select? The choice of and arrangement words in ancient times depended on the purpose of the speech and the audience to whom the speech was directed. Anyone who puts so much time and effort into preparing a speech or essay cares immensely about the appropriateness of the words because words have the power to move people.

Have you chosen the most appropriate words? Should they be pure and simple or ornate? Is specialized vocabulary needed? Does the grammar appear proper? Are the tenses consistent? Should you use the standard syntax for arranging the words or break a rule to produce an unexpected surprise? Would repetition of words or phrases be effective? Are your points concise? Have you chosen words that emotionally move the audience? Did you consider the sound and rhythm of the words and phrases? Would figures of speech like metaphor, personification, or simile aid in communicating your message?

William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White, authors of The Elements of Style, say that style is a high mystery.

“Who can confidently say what ignites a certain combination of words, causing them to explode in the mind?”

Each person approaches the same content differently; each of your children will manifest a unique style of speaking and writing that reveals something of his or her spirit. There are boundless opportunities for creative expression. Encourage your children to experiment with style as if they were painting pictures with words and delight their audience!

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Here’s a fun exercise. Take a much-quoted sentence, and have the kids play with rearranging the words. Stunk and White offer this example to get you started: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” Variations include:

• Times like these try men’s souls.
• How trying it is to live in these times!
• These are trying times for men’s souls.
• Soulwise, these are trying times.

Which sentence do you like best? Now it’s your turn! MEMORY is the fourth canon of classical rhetoric and the subject of the next post. Stay tuned…

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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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According to the honorable Zell Miller, former governor of the state of Georgia and United States Senator,

“Twenty years of votes can tell you much more about a man than twenty weeks of campaign rhetoric. Campaign talk tells people who you want them to think you are. How you vote tells people who you really are deep inside.”

Although you’ve heard the word “rhetoric” used in contemporary conversations, you might not have a clear idea of what it means in terms of an authentic classical education. The two most common usages of the word rhetoric in my community of Christian home schoolers are as follows: (1) the inflated verbosity of politicians to win votes at all costs, and (2) the misuse of the original term to describe a “stage” of classical home education, generally the high school years. Our lack of understanding stems from the fact that the term rhetoric belongs to an art (remember the 7 “liberal arts” of a classical education?) that was constructed during ancient times, practiced for thousands of years, yet abruptly abandoned as a fundamental discipline in our public schools during the middle to late 1800s. In short,

Rhetoric is the art of oratory.

For thousands of years, classical rhetoric was classified as (1) verbal, (2) conciliatory, (3) persuasive requests (as opposed to coercive demands) that were (4) delivered by a single orator. More recently with the invention of the printing press, the term rhetoric was broadened to include written as well as spoken oratory. Oratory, derived from the latin infinitive “orare” which means “to pray”, is simply the art of speaking in public and writing for the public. The same principles of rhetoric are applied to both oral and written disciplines.

Classical rhetoric is the art or discipline of using written and spoken discourse to persuade, inform, or motivate an audience…the very essence of the speech or essay is meant to move the listener or reader. According to Scottish Presbyterian Minister and Master of Rhetoric, George Campbell,

“we discourse to enlighten the understanding, to please the imagination, to move the passions, or influence the will.”

Although Campbell was primarily interested in the art of rhetoric because he believed it would result in better preachers, contemporary home school parents see the application of rhetoric to a whole slew of opportunities from platform, interpretive, and limited preparation speeches and essays to books, sermons, and face-to-face encounters in the community.

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Classical rhetoric, simply put, consists of 3 steps: (1) the idea, (2) the proof, and (3) the delivery or style. In my next post, I’ll elaborate on the three kinds of classical discourse. Please consider telling a friend about The Classical Scholar by clicking on the email envelope above this post.