“Lend me your ears.”
“Lend me your ears” is probably the most famous phrase associated with rhetoric. They are the words of Marc Antony as told by Shakespeare to an unruly crowd in Rome following the assassination of Julius Caesar. Starting with those words he proceeded to quiet the crowd, then artfully persuaded the crowd to turn their wrath towards those who assassinated Caesar. Words are powerful. Words change the course of nations, as well as homes and relationships. They can do great good, and great harm. Words wield so much power that it is a common impulse to avoid the formal study of … Continue Reading ““Lend me your ears.””
Rhetorical Figures covered in Fitting words
The video course that accompanies Fitting Words Rhetoric begins each lesson with a review of a rhetorical figure. These are covered again in detail in lesson 27, but students will already be familiar with them and using them. Here is the list of what figures are emphasized (with examples) in each lesson. The Glossary/Index at the back of the textbook has definitions for each of these. Fitting Words – Rhetorical figure per Lesson1. Parallelism / isocolon2. Antithesis3. Ellipsis / zeugma4. Asyndeton5. Polysyndeton6. Parenthesis7. Alliteration / assonance8. Antimetabole / chiasmus9. Anaphora10. Epistrophe11. Climax12. Epanalepsis13. Anadiplosis14. Polyptoton15. Metaphor16. Simile17. Metonymy18. Synecdoche19. Personification20. Apostrophe21. … Continue Reading “Rhetorical Figures covered in Fitting words”
What do we mean by “Liberal Arts”?
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s Christians recover classical Christian education, they are unearthing old treasures, once the possession of every educated man. Some of these treasures are words and descriptions–terms like “Trivium” and “Quadrivium,” “paideia,” and “liberal arts.” Of all these terms, “liberal arts” lays at the heart of what classical education is all about. So what did our forefathers mean by “liberal arts”? “Liberal” [dropcap]T[/dropcap]he word liberal has nothing to do with our modern use of the word in politics and culture. Liberal means “free,” and historically described the kind of education expected of a freeman–especially one in a position of leadership, like … Continue Reading “What do we mean by “Liberal Arts”?”
Review of Fitting Words by Brian Daigle
If Proverbs says that “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver,” then a page of Fitting Words is an apple tree, and a book of those pages is a fitting orchard. Fitting Words is a fitting orchard for which our Christian communities are in desperate need. This book may be written for high school students and teachers, but we ought not think the material covered here is beneath any of us, for a proper study of rhetoric ought to be required for doctoral candidates and plumbers alike. So, taste. And see that rhetoric, when … Continue Reading “Review of Fitting Words by Brian Daigle”
Fitting Words: Classical Rhetoric, illustrated
Fitting Words: Classical Rhetoric for the Christian Student is a comprehensive high school rhetoric text by James B Nance, author of the best-selling Introductory and Intermediate Logic curriculum. It is beautifully illustrated by George Harrell. Here are a few of the illustrations. All the illustrations below are from the “Famous Orators” marginalia of the textbook. There are a total of 30, one for each chapter.