The Forceful Art of Words

With the dawn of the Italian Renaissance in the mid-1300s, and the efforts of its
Humanist scholars, the power of language harnessed to learning and used effectively is
reborn and renewed. In reaction to earlier centuries’ reliance on religious belief as the
source of all knowledge and on solitary contemplation as the ideal, Renaissance Italians
look back to the ancient worlds of Greece and Rome, to rhetoric, the power of the
human mind expressed in speech and writing. The Italian Renaissance revival of
rhetoric is marked by a renewed interest in Greek and Roman works as educational
resources, in the development of social and political rhetoric, and in the powerful magic
of words.

The first major change in Renaissance society is due to the Renaissance

rediscovery of Greek and Roman texts, expanding and deepening the range of subjects
available for personal education (Herrick 143). To guide the study of these older books,
many devoted to the effective and skillful use of language, gifted teachers appear. One
influential educator is George of Trebizond, who writes The Five Books of Rhetoric, a new
comprehensive textbook for Renaissance students, offering not just a systematic
approach to learning the elegant style of Greek and Roman speakers, but also lessons on
composition, poetry, and history. In fact, Trebizond’s textbook becomes a respected
source for students for many centuries (Wilson 369), and becomes the basis of Liberal
Arts education to come.

Along with classically based studies, the political or social aspect of Renaissance
rhetoric has wide-ranging effects. Rhetoric is not simply making eloquent speeches, it is
an essential part of active involvement in city life—“the active life” is the ideal, not the
withdrawn life of a monk in a monastery. Among the advocates of the citizen’s duty to
participate in public life is Nicolo Machiavelli, in his Discourses. Machiavelli looks back
to the Roman republic, which he sees as working for the best of its people because it is
governed by rhetoric, the words and persuasion of gifted orators, rather than the force
of tyrannical rulers (Nederman 265). For Machiavelli, the main quality of civic
Humanism is the “humanizing” power of effective communication, of speech and
writing to forge a civilized society. The eloquent orators of Rome show people the
common good with the use of open competitive debates about possible courses of
action. As well, if the people of Rome somehow pass an unjust law, counterproductive
to the common good, it could be reversed through the power of words. Similarly,
Renaissance Humanists see citizens as empowered by their rhetorical skills to solve the
ills of the state (Herrick 155–156).

Finally, in contrast to rhetoric’s supporting and empowering citizens’

participation in public life, rhetoric brings with it a fascination related to its magical
powers. While peoples of many eras have found magic in words, the ancient Greek
orators, such as Gorgias, find words to have a magical way of altering reality (Herrick
 The Forceful Art of Words

153). Words, used well, for the right audiences, can cast spells. Thus, if a magician of
rhetoric wields words, they can place people and events under his or her control—even
recent history, in the case of Hitler, provides terrible examples of the misuse of such
power. Shakespeare, an English Renaissance writer, explores the connections between
words, power, and magic in The Tempest. Through the use of charismatic speeches and
magic Prospero, the main character, controls the minds and bodies of the inhabitants of
his island. In fact, he and the unruly sprite Caliban fight a war of words, in which
Prospero is the winner, as he lists Caliban’s failings and his own overwhelming virtues.

From the centuries of influence of George of Trebizond’s Five Books of Rhetoric to

Machiavelli’s use of ancient Rome’s political rhetoric to justify active social
involvement, to Shakespeare’s portrayal of magic and rhetoric in The Tempest, the
Renaissance’s rediscovery and positioning of rhetoric in a place of honor has had wide-
ranging effects on education, civic culture, and the arts.

Source: Langan, J. & Winstanley, S. (2014). Essay Writing Skills With Readings 7th Ed.
McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.