Essay On The Five Canons Of Rhetoric

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Five Canons of Rhetoric
Introduction
The art of speaking and communicating has been a part of life that has developed over time. Rhetoricians, over time, developed techniques for the people of their time to become an effective speaker. One of the practices that was developed during the Common Era and is still used widely today is rhetoric. Rhetoric was developed by Aristotle but other rhetoricians helped establish rhetoric, especially rhetoricians such as Marcus Tullius Cicero (Cline, 2006). Aristotle originally came up with the principal of the five canons of rhetoric (Aristotle, 1994). The five canons of rhetoric are: invention (inventio), arrangement (dispositio), style (elocutio), memory (memoria), and delivery (actio/pronuntitatio) (Burton, 2007). Rhetoricians like Aristotle and Cicero believed that to be an effective speaker, he or she had to master the use of the five canons of rhetoric (Jasinski, 2001). Aristotle was the original author of the five canons of rhetoric but Marcus Tullius Cicero was the rhetorician who truly developed the five canons of rhetoric. As with all things in nature, the five canons have evolved from what they used to be, but still hold to the same principles to what they were founded on. These canons of rhetoric are more than names but are individual concepts that are more detailed.
Invention
Invention, also known as inventio, is the first of the five canons of rhetoric. According to Cicero (1888), “Invention, is the conceiving of topics either true or probable, which may make one’s cause appear probable.” Invention’s main goal is to find something to compose in a way that is interesting and appealing to the audience (Burton, 2007). Invention can see to be in relation to logos, one of Ari...

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...ively. Ann effectively delivered her speech with great stage presence, which helped her appeal of pathos and become well-liked by the audience. Ann utilized all five canons to deliver a great speech that is still remembered today.
Conclusion
Alone, the five canons of rhetoric can be used to establish the basis of a speech. Together, when used correctly, the five cannons of rhetoric will work together to effectively improve the oral or written skills of any orator. The goal of the ancient rhetoricians was to improve the people’s speaking abilities. They accomplished this goal especially with the practices of the five canons of rhetoric: invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. That goal was not only accomplished back in ancient times, but in modern times too with the continued use of rhetoric and its practices to help further the skills of orators.

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