I wrote this brief, four-page [originally
double-spaced] essay on Sydney's rhetorical
strategies during my undergraduate work at The
University of Waterloo. I wanted to show you a
model of a full essay with all of the
components I have discussed on these pages, so
why not one of my own? Moreover, while we
examine the individual stylistic elements, we
have also the benefit of the substance of the
essay itself, since I discuss rhetorical
strategies, many of them the very ones we are
learning to write at this site. Therefore,
when
you read this paper, please look for the thesis
statement, topic sentences, paragraphs that are
like mini-essays with beginning,
middle, and end, examples, argumentation,
transitions, elaboration, variation of sentence
structure and rhythms, logical, fallacy-free
discussion, and all the other elements that
combine to produce the persuasive academic
essay. Incidentally, "poesie" was simply the
Middle English spelling for "poetry" during the
Renaissance. And, if you choose to read this
essay "up on the roof", I certainly hope you
have a wireless computing
device!
A BRIEF
BIOGRAPHY OF SIR
PHILIP SIDNEY AND HIS "DEFENSE OF
POESIE" Sir
Philip Sidney, 1554–86, English author and
courtier. He was one of the leading members of
Queen Elizabeth's court and a model of
Renaissance chivalry. He served in several
diplomatic missions on the Continent and in
1586 was fatally wounded at the battle of
Zutphen. Sidney exerted a strong influence on
English poetry as patron, critic, and example.
His literary efforts circulated only in
manuscript during his lifetime.
Arcadia (1590),
a series of verse idyls connected by prose
narrative, was written for his sister Mary,
countess of Pembroke. It is the earliest
renowned pastoral in English literature.
Sidney's prose criticism of the nature of
poetry, written as a rebuttal to Stephen
Gosson's The School of Abuse, appeared in two
slightly different versions—The Defense of
Poesie and An Apology for Poetry (both 1595).
Astrophel and Stella (1591) is one of the great
sonnet sequences in English and was inspired by
his love for Penelope Devereux, later Lady
Rich. Sidney, however, married Frances
Walsingham in 1583.
Many scholars, some of whom have
devoted a lifetime with skill and devotion to
the task, have written on Sidney and on the
Defence, so a definitive general introduction
will not be attempted here. There is one aspect
of the Defence, however, that has been often
noted only in passing, and often dismissively,
and as I feel it is Sidney's main point I will
attempt to throw a little light on it.
Sidney
is conscious throughout his defence that it is
fiction he is defending, and that his strength
lies in attacking the privilege generally
accorded to "fact." He says that "of all
writers under the Sunne, the Poet is the least
lyer"; that is, the practitioners of what we
now call the academic disciplines are regularly
betrayed by their literalism, while the poet,
who is under no illusions, freely creates
"fictional" statements as true as any other,
and the truer for not being asserted as
literal. Sidney's approach is characteristic of
Renaissance humanism, and more closely akin to
modern semiotic theory than is generally
appreciated.
"SIDNEY'S
'DEFENSE OF POESIE':
RHETORICAL STRATEGIES"
by Terry M. aka
MOE
Sir Philip Sidney's Defense of Poesie 1
reflects the Renaissance idea of what literary
criticism ought to be, just as Sidney himself
embodied the idea of what a courtier should be.
The art of his persuasive technique becomes
instantly evident with the
choice to develop his theory of poetry ["to
teach and delight"] in the form of a "defense,"
a rhetorical genre familiar to the Renaissance
critic and every schoolboy. Yet Sidney, taking
every
advantage of the organizational benefits and
audience respect afforded by a formal,
traditional structure, injects his own
congenial personality into presenting a gentle
but strong argument in favour of poet and
poesy. He persuades through simplicity of
style, the citing of classical authority,
scriptural support, and, most important, by
befriending his reader.
In his exordium, Sidney employs an indirect
approach to his subject, seeking to capture the
good will of his audience by humorous anecdote,
presented with modesty and politeness. Knowing
that horsemanship is a topic of interest to his
readers, he puts them in a jovial, hence
receptive, mood with a light, self-deprecating
humour: "...[I]f I had not been a piece of
logician before I came to [Pugliano], I think
he would have persuaded me to have wished
myself a horse." Sidney constantly conveys a
humble personality that secures both admiration
and respect from the reader who is made to feel
an intellectual equal with the high-bred and
highly regarded courtier ["in these my not old
years and idlest times havig slipp'd into the
title of a poet."] This opening also adumbrates
the concern of the Defense with the
relation between the theory and practice of an
art: just as Pugliano "exercised his speech in
praise of his faculty," - horseback-riding - so
does Sidney ease into his defense of poesy.
Sidney's narration, proposition, division, and
confirmation may be generally regarded as a
commendation of the dignity of poetry. Stating
the problem [the question of the moral
character of the poet] and defining the issue,
he tries to give "the sum of the whole matter"
with the highly respected Aristotle's
definition of poetry as the "art of
imitation...[a speaking picture]...with this
end, to teach and delight." In his analysis of
the relevant arguments, he tells us that he
will not deal with poets who "imitate the
inconceivable excellencies of God," since his
Puritan audience would not object to divine
poetry. Instead, he gives examples of how
"right" poetry permits the reader to experience
"notable images of virtues [and] vices." Having
defined his argument as relating to the moral
effect of poetry, Sidney gives a number of
critical interpretations of both classical and
biblical stories. These reveal how poetry sets
forth a paradigm drawn from the golden world of
"first" nature, and Sidney cleverly clothes the
model in particulars drawn from the sensible,
material, postlapsarian world of second nature.
When Sidney makes bold assertions ["Only the
poet...in making things either better than
Nature..."], he carefully makes disclaimers
designed to placate sensitive Puritans who
might otherwise perceive Sidney's words as
somewhat blasphemous. Thus, nature makes "real"
men and poets create fictional men; only nature
can produce a "Cyrus." Sidney's strategy is to
anticipate religious-based objections, to
present the case of his perceived objectors
kindly, and to move on to his next assertion.
In this way, Sidney is able to contend that
"the highest point of man's wit" is comparable
to the "efficacy of Nature" - who among his
audience will argue with his basis for this
powerful statement: that God, making the poet
in his own likeness, provided the "divine
breath" that allows the poet such exalted
inspiration. Sidney, then, persuades us that
poetry is not in conflict with religion;
rather, God makes the poet great.
In his proof, Sidney defines the purpose of
learning in terms which would assign it an
important role in man's recovery from the Fall.
He considers the claims of philosophy, poetry,
and history in teaching ideal virtue to
encourage virtuous action, attacking history's
slavery to the imperfect particular [facts],
and
defending poetry's combination of specific fact
with general truthes. Whereas philosophy is too
abstract, history is too concrete; the poet
presents a balanced picture of virtue and does
it with delight. By tying poetry to
Christianity, Sidney gains the considerable
weight of authority in speaking to a largely
Christian audience.
In refuting opposing arguments, Sidney develops
his theory of the method by which poets create
for their readers an experience of the golden
world. He points out, too, that poets cannot be
"liars" because they affirm nothing as fact,
unlike historians. Indeed, history derives its
"truth" from history, epics, and tragedies.
Having argued that the poet imitates the
universal and thus cannot lie, Sidney moves to
a digression, discussing something appropriate
to the subject but not immediately relevant to
the case under judgment. He indicates the ways
in which contemporary English writers disgrace
the ideal of poetry set out in the rest of his
Defense, and how they should amend.
Poets must seek to know what to do and then do
it. They must avoid the verbal affectations and
watch for the dangers of "exaggerated
Ciceronianism." Sidney then closes his defense
with a peroration in the same easy tone with
which he began, urging his readers to believe
his defense, and to believe other defenses of
poetry as "they will make you immortal by their
verses."
Sidney's persuasive rhetorical strategies are
effective, then, in their simplicity, and in
their avoidance of novel phrasing or high-blown
language. Humility, politeness, humour, and an
endearing conversational style combine to
befriend the reader and to make him or her feel
intellectually equal to the author. Sidney
cites both classical and biblical authority as
support, sources important to his audience. Yet
he contends that the poet creates a golden
world just as God created him - he is an
extension of his Maker. With a courtly
"sprezzatura" Sidney takes the reader by the
hand through a formally structured defense that
seems more like a warm but serious chat with a
favourite uncle, leaving one feeling both
convinced and satisfied.
1 Sir Philip Sidney, "The Defense of
Poesy," The Renaissance in England Eds.
H. Rollins and H. Baker (Lexington, Mass.: D.C.
Heath, 1954), pp. 605-23. All subsequent
references are to this edition.
ANALYSIS OF THE
ESSAY'S STRUCTURE AND
STYLE
We know
the essay is an argument
immediately from the title: a "defense" is a
well-known rhetorical style of argument. Yet,
as the essay develops, it soon becomes evident
that the word "defense" does not necessarily
mean
a passive approach as some might infer, but
rather quite an
assertive one. The introductory paragraph takes
the funnel-like form: from a general, wide,
opening sentence [the Renaissance], working
down to the specific thesis statement, the
final sentence of the introduction. The thesis
lists exactly four techniques used by Sidney to
persuade his reader, the most important of
which is befriending his reader to gain support
and credibilty. If you like someone and respect
that person, you have a much better chance of
convincing them of your argument. Respect your
reader and take a congenial tone.
I was clear and specific, too, in the thesis
statement, claiming that Sidney argues
successfully by his simplicity of style, his
citing of well-known classical sources which
support his argument, as well as the scriptural
references and allusions. Remember, Sidney
considered that his audience was largely
Puritan and religious and therefore organized
his essay accordingly and used diction that
would appeal to the Puritan mind. Always
consider your target audience and adjust your
writing style.
Note the topic sentences - the first sentence
of each paragraph. These, as I have mentioned,
should support your thesis and should be the
start of a mini-essay itself, i.e., the
paragraph. For example, the second paragraph
observes that Sidney uses a humorous anecdote
to capture the good will of his audience. I
provide an example [his comments on
horsemanship] and elaborate on this pont in the
second paragraph. I provide short quotes to
illustrate my point. My sentences are varied
and there are plenty of transitions to aid
coherence. There is parallelism, e.g., "just
as...so does...."
The third paragraph further
develops the argument and I address opposing
views. I use the organizational strategy of
definition and refer to Aristotle to support my
argument, as well as Sidney's. I use cause and
effect as well: "Sidney gives...critical
interpretations....These reveal..."
In paragraph four, I note once again Sidney's
awareness and sensitivity to his Puritan
audience and discuss how he avoids appearing
"blasphemous" while promoting his argument that
poetry does not lie, whereas other forms of
writing are suspect. In fact, he reasons [logic
and reasoning being very important in an essay]
that poetry is "not in conflict with religion;
God makes the poet great." If you take into
account that you are talking to people who
believe that only the Bible tells the truth and
that all else is essentially heresy, then you
can more fully appreciate Sidney's coup
here!
Further on, I address Sidney's attack on
historians and philosophers, and contrast these
people with the poet whose goodness and skill
come from the fact that "the poet presents a
balanced picture of virtue" while philosophy is
too abstract and history too concrete. Sidney
ties the poet to religion, thus pleasing his
audience while proving his thesis.
His invisible opponent is mainly the historian.
Poets cannot be liars because they affirm
nothing as fact, unlike the historian. The poet
imitates the universal. Since God is the
universal, Sidney secures himself a highly
credible position. My final paragraph
summarizes my argument, restates my thesis
in different words than the introduction, and
reasserts my main point -
Sidney's congeniality - rather informally, much
like Sidney himself might do, with this final
sentence: "...Sidney takes the reader by the
hand through a ...structured defense that seems
more like a warm but serious chat with a
favourite uncle, leaving one feeling both
convinced and satisfied."
The footnote is a
convention that may be required in a research
essay in university or even in secondary
school. The MLA [Modern Language Association]
Guide provides the proper means of
documentation and citing sources, including
footnotes, endnotes, bibliographies, works
cited, and other formalities of the research
essay. On the RESOURCES page [14], I have
provided a link to this important text as well
as several
other online resources that I found most useful
in putting together the various types of the
essay during my undergraduate and post-graduate
university work.
A NEWSPAPER ESSAY:
"EMAIL FORWARDS AS
FOLKLORE"
Courtesy of The
Toronto Star, May 25, 2000
INTRO &
ANALYSIS BY
MOE
Here is
an essay with a journalistic style, and no
doubt much more interesting to the average
reader than the rather dry, esoteric nature of
my own academic example. It is good to read
essays from various genres and that is why I
include it here. You should, by now, easily
recognize the components of the essay format,
as they all share similar strategies,
structure, and diction. I have had to edit this
essay for length. Look for its thesis, use of
figurative language, transitions and coherence,
comparison and contrast, classification
[categorizing], cause/effect, definition, vivid
examples, active verbs, and argumentation.
Instead of analyzing the essay in separate
paragraphs, this time I will bracket the essay
devices being used throughout the essay. The
bracketed comments and phrases in RED text, then, are my
comments, pointing out the
various rhetorical devices, grammar, and punctuation in
action.
Melanie Dunford is a
junk e-mail junkie.
[alliteration, topic sentence] Every day
she logs on to her e-mail account to download
messages of every description forwarded to her
by her friends: stories, chain letters, jokes,
pictures, sound files, short movie clips, you
name it. [examples; use of
serial commas]
With a click on her
e-mail program's forward button, she
effortlessly sends the stuff she particularly
likes on to other friends for their amusement
or information. "It's become kind of a
habit," admits 24-year-old
[qoute; specific information;
note hyphen use]
Dunford, "even though 95 per cent of what
people send me is crap. [concession; direct
quote] But every
once in a while I get
something really entertaining, and that makes
it
worth it." [cause/effect]
A small
but growing number of connoisseurs of Internet
culture is starting to pay attention -
collecting forwards in databases, discussing
them in newsgroups, trying to understand why
people like Dunford are so hooked by them.[good topic sentence - Dunford
one member of a growing culture] In
fact, they suggest, we can see forwards as a
new manifestation of one of the oldest and most
ubiquitous forms of culture around:
folklore. [THESIS; use of
definition; note
effective use of colon to emphasize the
point] Folklore
encompasses the
stories, myths, legends, jokes and wisdom that
gets passed informally among member of a
community, traditionally by word of mouth. Of
course, online the community is wired, and its
membership stretches around the globe. [comparison and contrast: then
and now] Anyone
interested in doing a
little amateur archeological e-digging [metaphor; newly coined
word] for
folklore should start with one
of the Web databases of forwards, such as the
Em
ail Folklore Homepage, administered by
Yvonne Brandon, a
forwards fan at the University of
Virginia.
[specific
example] A quick
perusal on a site like
Brandon's demonstrates [argumentative diction, choice
of word] that e-mail folklore falls into
a number of categories. [classification] One
particularly popular genre is the urban legend:
those crazy, usually false stories which always
happened to "a friend of a friend." [classification: urban
legend=one of the categories or
"genre"]For
example, [transitional
phrase] there's
the infamous,
unsubstantiated, and improbable "stolen kidney"
legend. [example;
author
makes it clear where he stands on the subject
with word choice, i.e., diction] A
traveller meets a woman while drinking in a bar
and invites her back to his hotel room, does
drugs, has sex,then passes out. [developing an illustrative
anecdote] The
next morning he wakes up
in the bathtub, covered with ice and with tubes
sticking out of his midsection. A note taped to
the wall tells him to call 911 because his
kidneys have been removed. [shock value, the hook that
keeps your mind from drifting; also, note the
consistent use of present tense]
The e-mail-based hoax is a close relative of
such e-legends. [topic
sentence; further classification and
comparison; good transition and coherence,
i.e.,
flow] The
quintessential e-hoax [coining several new words, or
neologisms, using the "e-" prefix]is the
chain forward claiming that e-mails with
subject lines such as "Good Times," or "Pen
Pal" [specific
examples]contain
sophisticated viruses - supposedly
created by demonically clever teenaged hackers
- which will physically destroy a computer's
hard drive if they are opened. [cause/effect] Most of
these messages have been false, but cases like
the
recent ILOVEYOU e-mail virus might make us
think twice before laughing such warnings off.
[draws reader's
attention, personal danger]The
joke-lore is one type of forwarded e-mail in
the funny category. It's [further classifification, i.e.
another kind of e-mail forward; "joke-lore" yet
another neologism - folklore/jolk-lore; also,
informal contraction "it's" not
usually used in the academic essay]
often atrociously corny and invariably in bad
taste. This is, of course, its appeal. [irony]The compilation
of quotes, one-liners, deep thoughts, or bumper
sticker wisdom is another perennial genre of
e-mail folklore. [continuing with classification
as organizing principal; also a number of
examples] Of
course, there are other
forms of print based e-mail folklore
[reiteratiion of thesis: e-mail
as modern folklore] ...sappy poems, top
10 lists on everything under the sun
[biblical
allusion],
pyramid scams, new versions of
traditional songs, and ASCII drawings.
[the author's diction or word
choice reveals how he regards e-mail forwards:
words like "sappy," "scams,"
along with his tone, make it clear that,
although it may be a new form of folklore,
e-mail forwards are not particularly engaging
to him on a personal level; rather, he is
merely observing the phenomenon
voyeuristically, as a journalist. Contrast this
approach with the academic version, which
insists you
take a position.]The subjects of
e-mail folklore - like those of all folklore -
[comparison; note
use of the set of dashes]are the stuff
of everyday living, as several of Brandon's
categories indicate: Relationships, Holidays,
Kids, TV and Movies, Animals, and Age, for
instance.
[classifications; use of serial commas]
But we can go beyond these surface observations
by looking more closely at specific examples of
e-mail folklore. A well-known expert on urban
legends, Jan Brunvand, from the University of
Utah, has suggested that they can serve as
contemporary fables, playing on fears about
sex, crime, powerful corporations, and so
on.
[cites authority to give
credibility to his thesis; the e-mail forward
as fable; cause and effect, i.e., the folklore
can have psychological effects] The
fable also plays into commonly held conspiracy
theories about shadowy underworld networks out
to get us - or at least profit at our expense.
So it compresses a number of separate dangers
into a brief narrative package which relies on
vividness and shock value to get its moral
messages across. [fable
described as a sub-category of folklore; author
asserts that modern folklore, especially in its
form as fable, like its more traditional
"ancestor",
carries a moral message; cause/effect -
shocking the reader to pique his interest -
reader has a personal stake, so to speak, in
that this phenomenon could also affect him
personally]
Brunvand, the anthropologist, points out that
urban legends and hoaxes can keep us on our
toes [colloquial
phrase] about
real dangers out there in society. In a recent
e-chat for CNN he pointed out that "certainly
some stories convey worthwhile messages, such
as 'check the back set of your car before you
get in', or 'keep your eye on your kids' when
you are at the amusement park or shopping
mall.'" Sociologists have suggested
[concedes the
"worthwhile" legends, i.e., not all urban
legends are negative or dangerous or just
annoying; citing authority
again] that
participating in the culture
of e-mail folkore might even have real
psychological benefits for workers. On the one
hand, it can help workers to forge a sense of
individuality and agency (to defy the cubicle
police, ads Dilbert would put it) in boring,
conformist corporate offices.[excellent use of cause/effect;
humorous reference to Dilbert and the "cubicle
police"; concession in argument]
On the other hand, [transitional phrase starts new
paragraph to aid in flow; nice parallel
structure, i.e., on the one hand/on the other
hand; also signals an opposing view]
it
gives people a sense of community. Receive a
message you like, forward it on to people you
know and - presto - you're participating in an
ongoing dialgue involving perhaps dozens of
people beyond the cubicle. [the appeal of social
interaction, even if it is not
face-to-face].
"With forwards," Dunford
says, [return of Dunford,
who was introduced in the opening paragraph
equals continuity, coherence; quote as
testimonial] "I
feel like I can keep the
connection to people I care about - let them
know I'm thinking of them, even if I don't
always have time for anything anymore."
[the time factor, implied
throughout the essay, contrasts with the
new-age version of e-mail: folklore versus
traditional communication and social
interaction, such as visiting a friend's house,
talking on
the street, and so on, i.e., face-to-face
passing on
of stories] In
this electronic age of
bottom lines, just in time, and long, long
hours, we sometimes have to take our sense of
community however we can get it. [restating original thesis in
conclusion - then and now; shows that economic
issues
and time constraints have effected change; we
are forced to change since the world,
especially technology, is constantly in flux;
definition of community expands to include
electronic network of friends; electronic
folklore will pass our stories on to further
generations, much as our ancestors'
word-of-mouth assured continuity and
connection.
JOURNALISTIC VERSUS ACADEMIC ESSAYS
by
MOE
Note the more informal nature of
the journalistic essay, e.g., the essay above
is peppered with contractions, vernacular,
e.,g., "stuff",
"presto," newly coined words [neologisms], the
liberal use
of the dash or set of dashes, which is used
sparingly in an academic essay. In addition to
these differences, an essay from a newspaper or
magazine will often be accompanied by visual
aids, such as a sketch, diagram, icon, or
cartoon. The average academic essay,
particularly in the faculty of arts, avoids
such aids. The point is for the academic
essayist to persuade his audience, using
language alone. Exceptions, however, include
essays written in the non-arts fields of
mathematics, science and engineering.
Morevover, the journalistic essay normally
has shorter paragraphs, with more quotes; the
quotes are set apart as separate paragraphs.
One must remember that journalistic essayists
are often restricted by the vertical columns in
which their paragraphs appear. In many
instances, unlike their academic counterparts,
they have no idea what physical "shape" their
essays will assume. This decision will be made
by the editor and the typesetter, and the
result may be truncated paragraphs.
Another
difference is the documentation factor. Whereas
the research essay written by the
post-secondary student must abide by MLA
[Modern Language Association] guidelines to
document sources in footnotes or endnotes,
provide bibliographies or works cited, and so
on, the journalist will simply refer to his or
her source in parentheses or brackets following
a quote. The opinion of "the man on the
street," too, is a common source for the
journalist; by contrast, the student is
expected to refer to authoritative works and
"secondary" sources, such as a scholarly
critic's evaluation of a text. Certainly, the
veracity of the journalist's sources must be
beyond question; the difference lies only in
the form that these sources take.
Despite these many differences, though, the key
structural elements of the essay are present in
both forms, so that the above article is still
a good model to
study. Major elements common to both formats
[as outlined above] include the importance of
the introduction, often called "the hook" by
the journalist. The thesis or main idea,
remains the most important element in both
formats and usually is stated near the
beginning of the essay. Topic sentences
introduce key supporting arguments, and
examples and quotes elaborate and add color.
Active verbs infuse an energy to the discourse
and transitional phrases help to maintain
coherence. Paragraphs are little essays within
the essay proper, with the Aristotelian
continuity of a beginning, middle, and end. The
conclusion gives the sense of a thoroughly
discussed topic with no loose ends or glaring,
unanswered questions. Diction or choice and
placement of words and their usage indicates to
the reader where the writer stands on specific
issues, although argumentation is native to the
academic essay and may or may not be present in
the magazine article, depending upon the focus.
The concluding paragraph broadens out,
generalizing - the idea of the funnel,
inverted. Despite the differences, then, the
magazine or newspaper essay is a useful model
for the student essayist to read and analyze.
The essay, as a genre of writing, comes in many
shades and colors. [MOE hopes that you have
recognized this comparison and contrast of the
two essay styles as a brief essay in itself!]