Rhetoric: How Writers Move a Reader

Grammar builds the sentence. Logic connects the ideas. Rhetoric is what makes a reader care.

For many people, "rhetoric" is a dirty word. We hear it used for empty political talk or slick sales pitches. The classical teachers meant something richer. Rhetoric was the art of speaking and writing well, so that the truth would actually reach the people who needed it. It was the third and final art of the old trivium, and it is the third layer of the Trivium System, the framework Legacy Publishing uses to study an author's voice.

In this article we look at the big ideas of rhetoric and the terms that go with them.

Aristotle's three means of persuasion

The most famous idea in rhetoric comes from the Greek philosopher Aristotle. In his book on rhetoric, he taught that a speaker persuades in three ways. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy calls this the core of his method.

• Ethos is persuasion through the character of the speaker. We believe people who seem wise, good, and on our side. Aristotle said a speaker earns trust by showing good sense, good character, and goodwill toward the audience.
• Pathos is persuasion through the emotions of the hearer. A story that moves us to grief or joy can open our hearts to an idea we would have resisted.
• Logos is persuasion through the argument itself: the reasons, evidence, and proof.

Aristotle also said that every speech has three parts: the speaker, the subject, and the listener. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy links each means of persuasion to one of these parts.

Every author mixes these three in a different way. One pastor wins readers through decades of faithful ministry and a humble, honest tone. That is ethos. Another opens every chapter with a story that brings a lump to your throat. That is pathos. A third builds a careful case from Scripture, step by step. That is logos. Most good writers use all three. The question we ask is which one leads.

Rhetoric's link to logic

Aristotle opened his book by calling rhetoric a "counterpart" to dialectic, the art of reasoned argument. He was critical of teachers who taught tricks to stir up anger or pity that had nothing to do with the subject at hand. For Aristotle, good rhetoric stayed on the point and gave the audience real reasons. That is a healthy standard for any Christian author. We want to move readers honestly, with real reasons.

The three styles

Roman teachers added another lasting idea: the three levels of style. The oldest complete Latin handbook on rhetoric, known as the Rhetorica ad Herennium, names them the grand, the middle, and the simple. The grand style uses impressive, ornate language. The middle style is more relaxed, a step above everyday talk. The simple style uses the everyday speech of ordinary conversation.

The great Roman orator Cicero tied these styles to three jobs of a speaker. In his work Orator, he wrote that the eloquent speaker should prove, please, and persuade. The plain style suits proving. The middle style suits pleasing. The grand, forceful style suits moving people to act.

Centuries later, Augustine of Hippo brought this same idea into the church. In the fourth book of On Christian Doctrine, he took up Cicero's three aims and applied them to Christian preaching and teaching. In the public-domain English translation in the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers series, he passes on Cicero's line that "an eloquent man must speak so as to teach, to delight, and to persuade." Augustine adds that teaching comes first, because people must understand before they can be moved.

For Christian writers, this is a gift. It means the tools of rhetoric have served the gospel since the days of the early church.

Figures of speech

Rhetoric also includes the figures of speech: repetition, contrast, metaphor, simile, and many more. Teachers often sort them into two families. Schemes play with the arrangement of words. Tropes play with their meaning. We will give these their own article in this series, because they are some of the most recognizable marks of a writer's voice.

The sound of prose

Rhetoric also covers sound. Writers repeat consonant sounds, echo vowel sounds, and build rhythms that please the ear. A writer who preaches often writes for the ear without knowing it. Their sentences are meant to be heard. We pay attention to that music, because readers feel it even when they read silently.

How a writer stands toward the reader

Another part of rhetoric is the relationship a writer sets up with the reader. Does the author speak as a teacher to a student? As a friend to a friend? As a fellow traveler who has not yet arrived? Some writers shift between these positions within a single chapter.

Related to this is where a writer's authority comes from. One author leans on Scripture. Another leans on research. Another leans on hard-won personal experience. Many lean on all three. Knowing which sources an author trusts most helps us keep the book consistent.

Finally, writers differ in how hard they push. Some writers close every chapter with a clear call to act. Others make their case and trust the reader to decide. Both can work. A book that suddenly changes how hard it pushes will feel uneven.

Other parts of rhetoric we notice

A few more features round out this layer:

• Dialogue. How often an author lets people speak in their own words, and how they introduce those words.
• Sensory detail. Which senses an author draws on. Some writers paint pictures. Others give you sounds, smells, and textures.
• Humor. Whether the author is dry, warm, playful, or self-deprecating, or whether humor rarely appears at all.

Why rhetoric matters for your book

Your readers will remember how your book made them feel and what it moved them to do, long after they forget its sentences. That is the work of rhetoric.

At Legacy Publishing, we lead authors through this layer with care. We look at how you already persuade and move people when you speak or write. Then we help the book do the same thing on purpose, page after page, in your voice and no one else's.

Try this: think of a talk or story that really landed with an audience. Was it your character, their emotions, or your argument that carried the day? Your answer tells you a lot about your rhetoric.