Part of
Style, Rhetoric and Creativity in Language: In memory of Walter (Bill) Nash (1926-2015)Edited by Paul Simpson
[Linguistic Approaches to Literature 34] 2019
► pp. 57–76
Edited by Paul Simpson
[Linguistic Approaches to Literature 34] 2019
► pp. 57–76
Chapter 3The doubling of design in Walter Nash’s Rhetoric
The Wit of Persuasion
This chapter takes as its point of departure a simple diagram
which appears at the beginning of Walter Nash’s (1989) Rhetoric: The Wit of
Persuasion. As argued, this diagram offers a key to
understanding Nash’s unique conception of classical, renaissance and modern
rhetoric. Focusing upon the rhetorical canon of
taxis/disposition, or arrangement, the chapter explores
how Nash celebrates the skill of writers of canonical literary texts, and of
canny speakers in everyday situations, to design powerful schemes of
persuasion. It is suggested that listeners and readers appreciate the aesthetic
realization of language designed to persuade. The author observes how Nash’s
approach is to encourage receivers of language actively to take power in
rhetorical situations by parodying and rewriting, in order to critically
understand and creatively revise these schemes of persuasion. These
observations are complemented by an analysis of a press conference held by US President Donald Trump’s first press secretary, Sean Spicer.
Keywords: CNN, disposition (in rhetoric analysis), ‘mythogram’, persuasion, political speech, rhetorical, taxis
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Rhetoric, basically defined
- 3.A complication in the definition, a problem in the theory
- 4.Power in parody
- 5.Diagrammatic taxis
- 6.“And Jim Acosta Joins Us Now”: Diagrammatic taxis at CNN
- 7.Conclusion: Design within design = “observing ourselves, while acting”
-
References
References (18)
Anderson Cooper Transcripts. 2017. Aired 16 March 2017. CNN, 16 March 2017. [URL] (2 March 2018).
Booth, W. C. 1961 [1984]. The Rhetoric of Fiction. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Burke, K. 1937 [1984]. Attitudes toward History. 3rd edn. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
CNN. 2017. Heated White House Exchange You Need to
See. CNN Politics, 16 March 2017. [URL] (2 March 2018).
Cockcroft, R. & Cockcroft, S. M. 1992. Persuading People: An Introduction to Rhetoric. London: MacMillan. 
Eagleton, T. 2014. How to Read Literature. New Haven, NJ: Yale UP.
Fahnestock, J. 2005. Rhetorical stylistics. Language and Literature 14(3): 215–230.
The Forest of Rhetoric. n.d. [URL] (2 March 2018).
Haskins, E. 2007. Between archive and participation: Public memory in a
digital age. Rhetoric Society Quarterly 37(4): 401–422.
Nash, W. 1989. Rhetoric: The Wit of Persuasion. Oxford: Blackwell.
1992. An Uncommon Tongue: The Uses and Resources of English. London: Routledge.
Los Angeles Times. 2017a. Citing no evidence, Trump accuses Obama of tapping his
phones during the election. Los Angeles Times. 4 March 2017. [URL] (27 March 2019)
. 2017b. Our dishonest president. Los Angeles Times. 15 July 2017. [URL] (27 March 2019).
Phelan, J. 1996. Narrative as Rhetoric: Technique, Audiences, Ethics,
Ideology. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press.
Pope, R. 1995. Textual Intervention: Critical and Creative Strategies for
Literary Studies. London: Routledge.
Ramage, J. D. 2006. Rhetoric: A User’s Guide. New York: Pearson.
Spicer, S. 2017. Press Briefing by Press Secretary Sean
Spicer. The White
House, 16 March 2017. [URL] (2 March 2018).
Wardy, R. 2016. Birth of Rhetoric: Gorgias, Plato and Their Successors. London: Routledge.
Cited by (1)
Cited by one other publication
Statham, Simon
2020. The year’s work in stylistics 2019. Language and Literature: International Journal of Stylistics 29:4 ► pp. 454 ff. 
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 21 october 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.