Post #11: Style, Vico, and Sheridan

Ancient rhetors referred to style as the different arrangements of words one could have. While ancient rhetors may have used such tropes and figures of speech to exaggerate their argument, modern rhetoricians draw upon such ideals to engage the audience. In order to truly persuade a reader or audience, one must have that initial connection to them. This truly comes from the use of one's langauge, their personal style. This will have the audience walking away with an impression of what the rhetor truly wants, truly values.

The son of a bookkeeper, Vico saw himself as an autodidact, one who is self-taught and free from the prejudices of the academic world. He truly believed that he had learned more spending time in his father's shop than in school. However, Vico's goal was to unite humanism with modern science. By truly studying the origins of language, one can see the social changes coming about around us. Hence, language affects the socialization of society, as well as the individual.

Thomas Sheridan, on the other hand, believed in fixed rules for the use of language. By establishing such rules, one would see improvement in the self, as well as in education as a whole. Sheridan believed that rhetoric should be equal to that of natural conversation, citing a strong correlation between verbal and nonverbal communication.