Blog #1: Rhetoric

What is rhetoric? This is one of those words I’ve heard time and time before. I’ve heard it briefly mentioned but never expanded upon during high school English classes. I've heard of rhetorical questions, ones that do not actually expect an answer, but rather have one designated ahead of time. The notion of rhetoric seemed vaguely familiar to me, and I felt like I should know its definition. When asked to produce a specific one, however, I felt a little lost.

I had quite an obscure definition of this term in my mind before reading Herrick’s chapter. I believed it to be the art of communicating one’s opinions and views to either a single person or many people. I believed rhetoric could occur in many forms, whether it be a written paper or a speech. I didn’t have a positive or negative connotation when I thought of rhetoric.

While Herrick’s definition is broad as well, it showcases the many other components rhetoric has and highlights the fact that it is multi-dimensional. He emphasizes the fact that because rhetoric has so many sectors, it is seen throughout our daily lives. Herrick defines rhetoric as achieving clarity and a sense of beauty through symbols, and creating an understanding using symbols. I liked how Herrick pointed out that we use a series of symbols to create language, on which rhetoric can be based. Herrick also displays the connection between persuasion and rhetoric, and emphasizes the importance and presence, although sometimes unrecognized, of persuasion in our daily lives. It was interesting to see that Herrick viewed rhetoric as “response-making” but also “response-inviting”. While someone expresses their ideas they in turn created the opportunity for someone to agree or disagree with them.

Herrick’s reading did change my understanding of rhetoric. My new definition of it is still somewhat broad, but I am now aware of its many different dimensions. I now know that rhetoric is the process of effectively communicating with an audience. The term coincides with a very involved and engaging method that activates our reasoning, interpersonal, and persuasive skills.