ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the history, theories, and practices of rhetoric. Literary critic Wayne Booth (1921-2005) suggests that the term rhetoric poses some problems at the outset because of the various meanings it has acquired. Wayne Booth affirmed that rhetoric held "entire dominion over all verbal pursuits. Logic, dialectic, grammar, philosophy, history, poetry, all are rhetoric". Rhetoric's intimate connection with persuasion has prompted both suspicion and interest. Rhetoric scholar James J. Murphy has suggested "advice to others about future language use" as one way of defining rhetoric. Classicist George Kennedy defines rhetoric more broadly as "the energy inherent in emotion and thought, transmitted through a system of signs, including language, to others to influence their decisions or actions". Rhetoric is a source of psychological power, that is, the power to shape thought. French philosopher Michel Foucault explored this intersection of rhetoric and political power in a society.
