This is the second part of our discussion of the pleasures of language, in which we move from nonfiction to the language of literature itself, not that there is always a clear dividing line. We bring with us our hopefully-useful diagram of rhetorical possibilities, rhetoric being the study of language that works on people rather than objectively reporting facts and ideas—moves them, persuades them, changes them. It is a diagram of twin axes, vertical and horizontal, each of which is a spectrum of possibilities. The vertical axis represents a range of high, middle, and low styles, a distinction going back to the old Classical rhetoric books. In modern nonfiction writing, these become formal, conversational (or informal) and popular usage.
July 29, 2022
July 29, 2022
July 29, 2022
This is the second part of our discussion of the pleasures of language, in which we move from nonfiction to the language of literature itself, not that there is always a clear dividing line. We bring with us our hopefully-useful diagram of rhetorical possibilities, rhetoric being the study of language that works on people rather than objectively reporting facts and ideas—moves them, persuades them, changes them. It is a diagram of twin axes, vertical and horizontal, each of which is a spectrum of possibilities. The vertical axis represents a range of high, middle, and low styles, a distinction going back to the old Classical rhetoric books. In modern nonfiction writing, these become formal, conversational (or informal) and popular usage.