Modern and Postmodern Rhetoric

At the beginning of the twentieth century rhetoric was in a decline. The teaching of rhetoric became dismissed until it was reinvented as “discourse” or “dialogism”. The teaching of rhetoric had greatly changed from its traditional teachings. Invention, an essential part of traditional rhetoric was rarely studied because it was believed that knowledge came from the sciences and careful observation. Rhetoric’s new job therefore was to record and transmit knowledge with a minimum of distortion. At the turn of the twentieth century however, rhetoric took a new form of being taught, which was through public speaking classes. This new department that focused on speech gained rhetoric a new popularity, as public speaking became dominated by the traditional categories of invention, arrangement, style, memory and delivery.

While it is true that modern rhetoric differs greatly from traditional rhetoric the presence of rhetoric has never faltered. Rhetoric has changed to fit the modern world. Traditional rhetoric is more obvious, and so people are not usually aware that rhetoric is used in our everyday lives. An advertisement, a lecture, or an academic essay are all examples of rhetoric in the modern world. Modern rhetoric relies heavily on scientific or proven evidence, but it is through the use of delivery and arrangement, key traditional rhetoric techniques, that rhetoric can be used as a convincing argumentum devise. Whether we are aware of it or not rhetoric is a part of our everyday lives and an important skill to possess. This is evident from how many universities require all of their students to take a public speaking class. The ability to speak rhetorically is essential to being successful in life. Although rhetoric has changed greatly overtime, it is still holds the essential uses that traditional rhetoric did. Rhetoric will continue to change as society changes.