Composition & Rhetoric

By Sherwin Cody

Unlock the Art of Persuasion and Express Your Ideas with Flair through 'Composition & Rhetoric' by Sherwin Cody. Dive into the realm of effective communication and master the craft of impactful writing.

Sherwin Cody, a true pioneer in the world of language and rhetoric, offers an enlightening guide to sharpen your communication skills. Whether you're a student looking to enhance your essay writing or a professional striving for persuasive written communication, this book provides invaluable insights and techniques.

Explore the art of crafting compelling arguments, structuring persuasive essays, and captivating your audience with the power of your words. 'Composition & Rhetoric' is your gateway to a world where language is harnessed as a powerful tool to express ideas, influence opinions, and ignite change.

Sherwin Cody's timeless wisdom and expertise in language and rhetoric will empower you to become a more effective communicator. Whether you're drafting an essay, delivering a speech, or engaging in any form of written communication, this book is your trusted resource for mastering the art of persuasion.

Don't miss the opportunity to hone your writing and rhetorical skills. 'Composition & Rhetoric' will help you unleash your full potential as a communicator and make your words resonate with impact.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cervantes Digital
• Release date: May 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9791222410968

Book preview

CHAPTER I. DICTION.

Diction is derived from the Latin dictio, a word, and in rhetoric it denotes choice of words. In the study of grammar we have learned that all words have logical relationships in sentences, and in some cases certain forms to agree with particular relationships. We have also taken note of idioms, in which words are used with peculiar values.

On the subject of Idiom Arlo Bates in his book On Writing English has some very forcible remarks. Says he, An idiom is the personal―if the word may be allowed―the personal idiosyncrasy of a language. It is a method of speech wherein the genius of the race making the language shows itself as differing from that of all other peoples. What style is to the man, that is idiom to the race. It is the crystalization in verbal forms of peculiarities of race temperament― perhaps even of race eccentricities …… English which is not idiomatic becomes at once formal and lifeless, as if the tongue were already dead and its remains embalmed in those honorable sepulchres, the philological dictionaries. On the other hand, English which goes too far, and fails of a delicate distinction between what is really and essentially idiomatic and what is colloquial, becomes at once vulgar and utterly wanting in that subtle quality of dignity for which there is no better term than distinction.*

*As examples of idioms Mr. Bates gives the following: A ten-foot (instead of ten-feet) pole; the use of the flat adverb or adjective form in such expressions as speak loud. walk fast, the sun shines hot, drink deep; and the use of prepositions adverbially at the end of a sentence, as in Where are you going to? The subject which I spoke to you about, etc.

We therefore see that idiom is not only a thing to justify, but something to strive for with all our might. The use of it gives character to our selection of words, and better than anything else illustrates what we should be looking for in forming our habit of observing the meanings and uses of words as we read.

Another thing we ought to note in our study of words is the suggestion which many words carry with them in addition to their obvious meaning. For instance, consider what a world of ideas the mere name of Lincoln or Washington or Franklin or Napoleon or Christ calls up. On their face they are but names of men, or possibly sometimes of places; but we cannot utter the name of Lincoln without thinking of the whole terrible struggle of our Civil War; the name of Washington, without thinking of nobility, patriotism, and self-sacrifice in a pure and great man; Napoleon, without thinking of ambition and blood; of Christ, without lifting our eyes to the sky in an attitude of worship and thanksgiving to God. So common words carry with them a world of suggested thought. The word drunk calls up a picture horrid and disgusting; violet suggests blueness, sweetness, and innocence; oak suggests sturdy courage and strength; love suggests all that is dear in the histories of our own lives. Just what will be suggested depends largely on the person who hears the word, and in thinking of suggestion we must reflect also on the minds of the persons to whom we speak.

The best practical exercise for the enlargement of one's vocabulary is translating, or writing verses. Franklin commends verse-writing, but it is hardly mechanical enough to be of value in all cases. At the same time, many people are not in a position to translate from a foreign language; and even if they were, the danger of acquiring foreign idioms and strange uses of words is so great as to offset the positive gain. But we can easily exercise ourselves in translating one kind of English into another, as poetry into prose, or an antique style into modern. To do this the constant use of the English dictionary will be necessary, and incidentally we shall learn a great deal about words.

As an example of this method of study, we subjoin a series of notes on the passage quoted from Franklin in the last chapter. In our study we constantly ask ourselves, Does this use of the word sound perfectly natural? At every point we appeal to our instinct, and in time come to trust it to a very great extent. We even train it. To train our instinct for words is the first great object of our study.

Notes on Franklin.

(See How Franklin Learned to Write in preceding chapter.)

1. The female sex includes animals as well as human beings, and in modern times we say simply women, though when Franklin wrote the female sex was considered an elegant