The Rhetorical Stance

Author(s): Wayne C. Booth

Source: College Composition and Communication , Oct., 1963, Vol. 14, No. 3, Annual
Meeting, Los Angeles, 1963: Toward a New Rhetoric (Oct., 1963), pp. 139-145
Published by: National Council of Teachers of English

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/355048

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 the kbetorical Stance
WAYNE C. BOOTH

LAST FALL I had an advancedThe graduate

Rhetoric of Religion, through "the
special arts of persuasion," on down to
student, bright, energetic, well-inform-
ed, whose papers were almost fairly narrow
un- notions about rhetorical
figures and devices. And of course we
readable. He managed to be pretentious,
dull, and disorganized in his still paperhave
onwith us the meaning of
Emma, and pretentious, dull, "empty bombast," as in the phrase
and dis-
organized on Madame Bovary. "merely rhetorical."
On The
Golden Bowl he was all these and ob- I suppose that the question of the
role
scure as well. Then one day, toward of rhetoric in the English course is
the
end of term, he cornered me aftermeaningless
class if we think of rhetoric in
and said, "You know, I think youeither
wereits broadest or its narrowest
meanings.
all wrong about Robbe-Grillet's Jealousy No English course could
today." We didn't have time to discuss avoid dealing with rhetoric in Burke's
it, so I suggested that he write sense, me a under whatever name, and on the
note about it. Five hours later I found other hand nobody would ever advocate
in my faculty box a four-page polemic, anything so questionable as teaching
unpretentious, stimulating, organized, "mere rhetoric." But if we settle on the
convincing. Here was a man who had following, traditional, definition, some
taught freshman composition for several real questions are raised: "Rhetoric is
years and who was incapable of commit- the art of finding and employing the
ting any of the more obvious errors most effective means of persuasion on
that we think of as characteristic of any subject, considered independently
bad writing. Yet he could not write a
of intellectual mastery of that subject."
decent sentence, paragraph, or paper As the students say, "Prof. X knows his
until his rhetorical problem was solved stuff but he doesn't know how to put it
across." If rhetoric is thought of as the
-until, that is, he had found a definition
of his audience, his argument, andart hisof "putting it across," considered as
own proper tone of voice. quite distinct from mastering an "it"
The word "rhetoric" is one of those in the first place, we are immediately
landed in a bramble bush of contro-
catch-all terms that can easily raise
trouble when our backs are turned. As it versy. Is there such an art? If so, what
does it consist of? Does it have a con-
regains a popularity that it once seemed
tent of its own? Can it be taught?
permanently to have lost, its meanings
Should it be taught? If it should, how
seem to range all the way from some-
do we go about it, head on or obliquely?
thing like "the whole art of writing on
Obviously it would be foolish to try
any subject," as in Kenneth Burke's
to deal with many of these issues in
Author of The Rhetoric of Fiction (1961),twenty minutes. But I wish that there
Mr. Booth is a member of the English De-were more signs of our taking all of
partment at the University of Chicago. them seriously. I wish that along with
139

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140 COMPOSITION AND COMMUNICATION

Now the teacher was right, but the

our new passion for structural linguis-
tics, for example, we could point application
to the of even such a firm princi-
development of a rhetorical theory plethat
requires reserves of tact that were
would show just how knowledge of
somewhat beyond my freshman.
structural linguistics can be useful to
But with all of the reservations made,
anyone interested in the art of persua-
surely the charge that the art of persua-
sion. I wish there were more freshman
sion cannot in any sense be taught is
texts that related every principle and
baseless. I cannot think that anyone who
every rule to functional principles of
has ever read Aristotle's Rhetoric or,
rhetoric, or, where this proves impos-
say, Whateley's Elements of Rhetoric
sible, I wish one found more syste- could seriously make the charge. There
matic discussion of why it is impossible.is more than enough in these and the
But for today, I must content myselfother traditional rhetorics to provide
with a brief look at the charge thatstructure and content for a year-long
there is nothing distinctive and teach- course. I believe that such a course,
able about the art of rhetoric.
when planned and carried through
The case against the isolability and with intelligence and flexibility, can be
teachability of rhetoric may look at first one of the most important of all educa-
like a good one. Nobody writes rhetoric,tional experiences. But it seems obvious
just as nobody ever writes writing. Whatthat the arts of persuasion cannot be
we write and speak is always this dis-learned in one year, that a good teach-
cussion of the decline of railroading ander will continue to teach them regard-
that discussion of Pope's couplets and less of his subject matter, and that we
the other argument for abolishing theas English teachers have a special re-
poll-tax or for getting rhetoric back into sponsibility at all levels to get certain
English studies. basic rhetorical principles into all of
We can also admit that like all the our writing assignments. When I think
arts, the art of rhetoric is at best very back over the experiences which have
chancy, only partly amenable to syste- had any actual effect on my writing, I
matic teaching; as we are all painfully find the great good fortune of a splendid
aware when our 1:00 section goes mis- freshman course, taught by a man who
erably and our 2:00 section of the same believed in what he was doing, but I
course is a delight, our own rhetoricalso is find a collection of other experi-
not entirely under control. Successful ences quite unconnected with a specific
rhetoricians are to some extent like writing course. I remember the instruc-
poets, born, not made. They aretor
alsoin psychology who pencilled one
dependent on years of practice andword
ex- after a peculiarly pretentious
perience. And we can finally admitpaper
that of mine: bull. I remember the day
even the firmest of principles aboutwhen P. A. Christensen talked with me
writing cannot be taught in the about
same my Chaucer paper, and made me
understand that my failure to use ef-
sense that elementary logic or arithmetic
or French can be taught. In my fective
first transitions was not simply a
year of teaching, I had a studenttechnical
who fault but a fundamental block
started his first two essays with a swear
in my effort to get him to see my mean-
word. When I suggested that perhaps
ing. His off-the-cuff pronouncement
the third paper ought to start with
that I should never let myself write a
something else, he protested thatsentence
his that was not in some way
high school teacher had taughtexplicitly
him attached to preceding and
always to catch the reader's attention.
following sentences meant far more to

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 THE RHETORICAL STANCE 141

me at that moment, when I had some-

at work in any communicative effort:
thing I wanted to say, than it
thecould
available arguments about the sub-
have meant as part of a pattern ject
of itself,
suclhthe interests and peculiarities
rules offered in a writing course.
of the
Sim-
audience, and the voice, the im-
ilarly, I can remember the devastating
plied character, of the speaker. I should
lessons about my bad writing that Ron-
like to suggest that it is this balance, this
ald Crane could teach with arhetorical
simplestance, difficult as it is to
question mark on a graduate describe,
seminar that is our main goal as teach-
paper, or a pencilled "Evidence
ers of for
rhetoric. Our ideal graduate will
strike this
this?" or "Why this section here?" or balance automatically in any
"Everybody says so. Is it true?"writing that he considers finished.
Such experiences are not, I Though
like tohe may never come to the
think, simply the result of mypoint
beingof finding
a tlhe balance easily, he
will know that it is what makes the
late bloomer. At least I find my col-
difference between effective communi-
leagues saying such things as "I didn't
learn to write until I became a news- cation and mere wasted effort.
What I mean by the true rhetorician's
paper reporter," or "The most important
training in writing I had was doingstance
a can perhaps best be seen by con-
dissertation under old Blank." Some- trasting it with two or three corruptions,
unbalanced stances often assumed by
times they go on to say that the fresh-
man course was useless; sometimes theypeople who think they are practicing
the arts of persuasion.
say that it was an indispensable prepa-
ration for the later experience. The The first I'll call the pedant's stance;
diversity of such replies is so great it
as consists
to of ignoring or underplaying
suggest that before we try to reorganize
the personal relationship of speaker and
the freshman course, with or without audience and depending entirely on
explicit confrontations with rhetorical
statements about a subject-that is, the
categories, we ought to look for what-notion of a job to be done for a particu-
ever there is in common among ourlar ex-audience is left out. It is a virtue, of
periences, both of good writing andcourse,
of to respect the bare truth of
good writing instruction. Whateverone's we subject, and there may even be
discover in such an enterprise ought to subjects which in their very na-
some
be useful to us at any level of ture ourdefine an audience and a rhetorical
teaching. It will not, presumably,purpose
de- so that adequacy to the subject
cide once and for all what should be
can be the whole art of presentation.
the content of the freshman course,
Forifexample, an article on "The relation
there should be such a course. But it
of the ontological and teleological
might serve as a guideline for theproofs,"
de- in a recent Journal of Religion,
requires a minimum of adaptation of
velopment of widely different programs
in the widely differing institutionalargument
cir- to audience. But most subjects
cumstances in which we must work. do not in themselves imply in any neces-
The common ingredient that I find in sary way a purpose and an audience
all of the writing I admire-excludingand hence a speaker's tone. The writer
for now novels, plays and poems-iswho assumes that it is enough merely
something that I shall reluctantly callto write an exposition of what he hap-
the rhetorical stance, a stance which pens to know on the subject will pro-
depends on discovering and maintaining duce the kind of essay that soils our
in any writing situation a proper bal-scholarly journals, written not for read-
ance among the three elements that are ers but for bibliographies.

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142 COMPOSITION AND COMMUNICATION

In my first year of teaching from now until graduation, but unless

I taught
a whole unit on "exposition" the student discovers a desire to say
without
ever suggesting, so far as I can something
remem- to somebody and learns to
ber, that the students ask themselves
control his diction for a purpose, we've
what their expositions were for.gained very little. I once gave an assign-
So they
wrote expositions like this ment
one-I've
asking students to describe the
saved it, to teach me tolerationsame of classroom
my in three different state-
ments, one for each level of usage.
colleagues: the title is "Family relations
in More's Utopia." "In this theme They wereI obedient, but the only ones
voulld like to discuss some of the rela- who got anything from the assignment
tionships with the family which Thomas were those who intuitively imported the
More elaborates and sets forth in his rhetorical instructions I had overlooked
book, Utopia. The first thing that -such
I purposes as "Make fun of your
would like to discuss about family scholarly
rela- surroundings by describing
this classroom in extremely elevated
tions is that overpopulation, according
to More, is a just cause of war." And so or "Imagine a kid from the slums
style,"'
on. Can you hear that student sneering
accidentally trapped in these surround-
at me, in this opening? What he isings
say-and forced to write a description
ing is something like "you ask for a room." A little thought might
of this
meaningless paper, I give you a mean-
have shown me how to give the whole
assignment
ingless paper." He knows that he has no some human point, and
audience except me. He knows that I
therefore some educative value.
don't want to read his summary of fam-
Just how confused we can allow our-
ily relations in Utopia, and he knows
selves to be about such matters is
that I know that he therefore has no
shown in a recent publication of th
rhetorical purpose. Because he has Educational
not Testing Service, called
been led to see a question which"Factors
he in Judgments of Writing Abili
considers worth answering, or an audi-
ty." In order to isolate those factor
ence that could possibly care one way
which affect differences in grading
or the other, the paper is worse thanstandards,
no ETS set six groups of reader
paper at all, even though it has no gram-
-business men, writers and editors,
matical or spelling errors and is organ-
lawyers, and teachers of English, social
ized right down the line, one, two,
science and natural science-to reading
three.
the same batch of papers. Then ETS
An extreme case, you may say. Mosta hundred-page "factor analysis"
did
of us would never allow ourselves that of the amount of agreement and dis-
kind of empty fencing? Perhaps. Butagreement,
if and of the elements which
some carefree foundation is willingdifferent
to kinds of graders emphasized.
The authors of the report express a
finance a statistical study, I'm willing
certain amount of shock at the discov-
to wager a month's salary that we'd
ery that the median correlation was only
find at least half of the suggested topics
in our freshman texts as pointless.31 as and that 94% of the papers received
mine was. And we'd find a good deal either 7, 8, or 9 of the 9 possible grades.
more than half of the discussions of
But what could they have expected?
grammar, punctuation, spelling, In the first place, the students were
and
style totally divorced from any notion
given no purpose and no audience when
that rhetorical purpose to some degree
the essays were assigned. And then all
controls all such matters. We can offer these editors and business men and
objective descriptions of levels of usage
academics were asked to judge the pa-

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 THE RHETORICAL STANCE 143

pers in a complete vacuum, using One effective way to combat the

only
pedantic
whatever intuitive standards they cared stance is to arrange for weekly
confrontations
to use. I'm surprised that there was of groups of students
over their own papers. We have done
any correlation at all. Lacking instruc-
far too little experimenting with ar-
tions, some of the students undoubtedly
wrote polemical essays, suitable rangements
for the for providing a genuine
audience
popular press; others no doubt imagined in this way. Short of such
an audience, say, of Reader'sdevelopments,
Digest it remains true that a
readers, and others wrote with the good teacher can convince his students
that he is a true audience, if his com-
English teachers as implied audience;
ments
an occasional student with real philo- on the popers show that some
sophical bent would no doubt dosort a of dialogue is taking place. As
Jacques
careful analysis of the pros and cons of Barzun says in Teacher in
America, students should be made to
the case. This would be graded low, of
feel that unless they have said some-
course, by the magazine editors, even
thing
though they would have graded it high to someone, they have failed; to
bore the teacher is a worse form of
if asked to judge it as a speculative
failure than to anger him. From this
contribution to the analysis of the prob-
point of view we can see that the
lem. Similarly, a creative student who
has been getting A's for his personal charts of grading symbols that mar even
the best freshman texts are not the in-
essays will write an amusing colorful
nocent time savers that we pretend.
piece, failed by all the social scientists
present, though they would have graded Plausible as it may seem to arrange for
it high if asked to judge it for what more
it corrections with less time, they
was. I find it shocking than tens of inevitably reduce the student's sense of
thousands of dollars and endless hours purpose in writing. When he sees in-
numerable W13's and P19's in the mar-
should have been spent by students,
graders, and professional testers analyz-gin, he cannot possibly feel that the art
ing essays and grading results totally of persuasion is as important to his
abstracted from any notion of purpose- instructor as when he reads personal
comments, however few.
ful human communication. Did nobody
protest? One might as well assemble a This first perversion, then, springs
group of citizens to judge students' ca- from ignoring the audience or over-
pacity to throw balls, say, without telling reliance on the pure subject. The sec-
the students or the graders whether ond, which might be called the adver-
altitude, speed, accuracy or form was tiser's stance, comes from undervaluing
to be judged. The judges would be the subject and overvaluing pure effect:
drawn from football coaches, hai-lai how to win friends and influence
experts, lawyers, and English teachers, people.
and asked to apply whatever standards Some of our best freshman texts-
they intuitively apply to ball throwing. Sheridan Baker's The Practical Stylist,
Then we could express astonishment for example-allow themselves on oc-
that the judgments did not correlate casion to suggest that to be controver-
very well, and we could do a factor sial or argumentative, to stir up an
analysis to discover, lo and behold, that audience is an end in itself. Sharpen
some readers concentrated on altitude,the controversial edge, one of them
some on speed, some on accuracy, some says, and the clear implication is that
on form-and the English teachers were one should do so even if the truth of
simply confused. the subject is honed off in the process.

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144 COMPOSITION AND COMMUNICATION

200 businessmen
This perversion is probably in the long on the table of con-
run a more serious threat in ourtents,
societyand..."
than the danger of ignoring the
Ataudi-
one point I did manage to ask him
ence. In the time of audience-reaction
whether the title he chose really fit the
meters and pre-tested plays and novels,
book. "Not quite as well as one or two
it is not easy to convince students of
of the others," he admited, "but that
the old Platonic truth that good persua-
doesn't matter, you know. If the book is
sion is honest persuasion, or even of designed right, so that the first chapter
the old Aristotelian truth that the good
pulls them in, and you keep 'em in
rhetorician must be master of his sub-
who's going to gripe about a little in-
ject, no matter how dishonest he mayaccuracy in the title?"
decide ultimately to be. Having told Well, rhetoric is the art of persuading,
them that good writers always to some
not the art seeming to persuade by giv-
degree accommodate their arguments to
ing everything away at the start. It
the audience, it is hard to explain the
presupposes that one has a purpose con-
difference between justified accommoda-
cerning a subject which itself cannot be
tion-say changing point one to the final
fundamentally modified by the desire to
position-and the kind of accommoda-
persuade. If Edmund Burke had decid-
tion that fills our popular magazines, in
ed that he could win more votes in
which the very substance of what is
Parliament by choosing the other side-
said is accommodated to some precon-
as he most certainly could have done-
ception of what will sell. "The publica-
we would hardly hail this party-switch
tion of Eros [magazine] represents aas a master stroke of rhetoric. If
major breakthrough in the battle forChurchill had offered the British "peac
the liberation of the human spirit." in our time," with some laughs thrown
At a dinner about a month ago I satin, because opinion polls had show
between the wife of a famous civil that more Britishers were "grabbed" by
rights lawyer and an advertising con-
these than by blood, sweat, and tears
sultant. "I saw the article on your book
we could hardly call his decision a sign
of rhetorical skill.
yesterday in the Daily News," she said,
"but I didn't even finish it. The title of One could easily discover other per-
your book scared me off. Why did you versions of the rhetorician's balance-
ever choose such a terrible title? No-
most obviously what might be called
body would buy a book with a title
the entertainer's stance-the willingness
like that." The man on my right, whom
to sacrifice substance to personality and
charm. I admire Walker Gibson's ef-
I'll call Mr. Kinches, overhearing my
feeble reply, plunged into a conversa-
forts to startle us out of dry pedantry,
but I know from experience that his
tion with her, over my torn and bleeding
corpse. "Now with my last book," exhortations
he to find and develop the
said, "I listed 20 possible titles and then
speaker's voice can lead to empty color-
tested them out on 400 business men. fulness. A student once said to me,
The one I chose was voted for by 90 complaining about a colleague, "I soon
percent of the businessmen." "That's learned that all I had to do to get an A
what I was just saying to Mr. Booth,"was imitate Thurber."
she said. "A book title ought to grab But perhaps this is more than enough
you, and rhetoric is not going to grababout the perversions of the rhetorical
anybody." "Right," he said. "My last stance. Balance itself is always harder
book sold 50,000 copies already; I don'tto describe than the clumsy poses that
know how this one will do, but I polled result when it is destroyed. But we all

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 THE RHETORICAL STANCE 145

experience the balance whenever we effort is made to involve the

here: every
find an author who succeeds in chang-
proper audience, the audience of philo-
ing our minds. He can do so only if heminds, in a fundamentally in-
sophical
knows more about the subject teresting
than we inquiry, and to lead them
do, and if he then engages usthrough
in the to the end. In short, because
process of thinking-and feeling-
he was ait man engaged with men in the
through. What makes the rhetoric
effort of to solve a human problem, one
Milton and Burke and Churchill couldgreat
never call what he wrote dull,
however
is that each presents us with the difficult or abstruse.
spec-
Now in
tacle of a man passionately involved obviously the habit of seeking
thinking an important question this balance is not the only thing we
through,
in the company of an audience. have to teach under the heading of
Though
each of them did everything in rhetoric.
his pow- But I think that everything
er to make his point persuasive, includ-
worth teaching under that heading finds
ing a pervasive use of the many emo-
its justification finally in that balance.
tional appeals that have beenMuch of what is now considered irrele-
falsely
scorned by many a freshman composi-
vant or dull can, in fact, be brought
to life
tion text, none would have allowed when teachers and students know
him-
self the advertiser's stance; none would
what they are seeking. Churchill reports
have polled the audience in advance
that the to
most valuable training he ever
discover which position wouldreceived
get thein rhetoric was in the dia-
votes. Nor is the highly individual per- of sentences. Think of it! Yet
gramming
sonality that springs out at us thefrom
diagramming of a sentence, regard-
their speeches and essays present for
less of the grammatical system, can be
a live subject as soon as one asks not
the sake of selling itself. The rhetorical
balance among speakers, audience, and
simply "How is this sentence put to-
argument is with all three men gether,"
habitual,but rather "Why is it put to-
gether in this way?" or "Could the
as we see if we look at their non-politi-
rhetorical
cal writings. Burke's work on the Sub- balance and hence the de-
lime and Beautiful is a relatively
sired un-
persuasion be better achieved by
impassioned philosophical treatise,
writingbut
it differently?"
one finds there again a delicateAsbal-
a nation we are reputed to write
ance: though the implied author of this
very badly. As a nation, I would say, we
work is a far different person,are
far less inclined to the perversions of
more
rhetoric
obtrusive, far more objective, than thethan to the rhetorical balance.
man who later cried sursum corda toRegardless of what we do about this
or that course in the curriculum, our
the British Parliament, he permeates
with his philosophical personality mandate
his would seem to be, then, to
philosophical work. And though the lead more of our students than we now
signs of his awareness of his audience
do to care about and practice the true
are far more subdued, they are still
arts of persuasion.

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