Książę Niccola Machiavellego jako przykład zastosowania toposu zakulisowości
Journal Title: Res Rhetorica - Year 2019, Vol 6, Issue 1
Abstract
To explain the phenomenon of the popularity of Machiavelli's Prince one has to point out the mode of communication that is used by the author. He has presented himself as a professional in the field of politics, and he wants to see his readers as professionals as well. The typically cold and seemingly unadorned style of Machiavelli’s prose underlines the impersonal relation between the author and his object of consideration. In the framework of rhetorical theory, this mode of communication can be described as searching for the ways to gain, as Kenneth Burke would put this, rhetorical consubstantiation. The speaker talks to the audience in a manner that is characteristic of backstage communication, giving them the hope to be joining a community of professionals. They can join this community by following the master of the political art: Machiavelli himself. This mode of communication can be found elsewhere in literature, especially where the element of cynicism appears, as its nature consists in precisely this form of rhetorical backstage speaking. It is present in the parts of Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War and on the pages of Plato’s dialogues, where the founder of the Academy confronts Socrates’ moralism with the immoralist perspectives of the sophists.
Authors and Affiliations
Marcin Pietrzak
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP509595
- DOI 10.29107/rr2019.1.6
- Views 79
- Downloads 0
The Necessity of Demonstrating Respect for the Sacred. An Attempt at Justification
The article attempts to defi ne the sacred as a symbol which is cognizable by the senses and which connects a human being with the divine reality. The sacred has two dimensions which indicate its ontological otherness an...
The antidote to the fear. The rhetorical genres as a link between literature and society. Examples from Italian literature
After a brief historical-methodological overview, this study is meant to prove that the theory of rhetorical genres (deliberative, judicial and epideictic), connected to that of the literary genres, offers scholars more...
Telewizyjne Opowieści Transformacyjne – między misją a rozrywką. Analiza retoryczna przekazu gatunku makeover show
The subject of the dissertation are television programs with a plot based on a quick, radical and spectacular transformation of the main character. The article fi ts into the current research on media rhetoric from the p...
Speaking about the “Environment” – topical change in Swedish nuclear waste discourse
This article offers a rhetorical perspective on the Swedish project of nuclear waste management – how inventio has been shaped throughout the project, with focus on alignment of perspectives and adaptation of argument to...
Rhetorical Ambiguity and Political Leadership: Ethos and Negotiation in Fredrik Reinfeldt’s 2005 “Welcome to the New Moderates” Speech
This article explores how rhetorically ambiguous speech acts can work as preventive negotiations of potential confl ict within a political party and how such acts can affect the ethos of the leader. I show how rhetorical...