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The Resource The ethos of drama : rhetorical theory and dramatic worth, Robert L. King

The ethos of drama : rhetorical theory and dramatic worth, Robert L. King

Creator
Summary
  • "This book is at once deeply conservative and surprisingly revolutionary: conservative because it grounds drama in a traditional study of rhetoric; revolutionary because it argues that drama can have an ethos, a quality of moral authority ... The quality of King's prose is simply superb: lucid and crisp, with just the right blend of theory, contextual matter, and close textual analysis. King himself is clearly a master of rhetoric." James C. Bulman, Henry B. and Patricia Bush Tippie Professor of English, Allegheny College
  • For the first time in the history of drama criticism this book uses traditional rhetorical theory to evaluate moral values in plays from Shakespeare's time to the present. In an accessible style free of jargon, Robert King first reviews other theories and critiques of drama to show that they ignore or minimize the argument from moral worth (ethos), the rhetorical proof that earns a speaker or work its credibility. As the literary genre most dependent on an audience for its full realization, drama in performance, he argues, offers rich opportunities for rhetorical criticism while those plays of social or political relevance virtually demand an ethically grounded approach
  • Proceeding from this premise, this innovative book insists on the continuing relevance of traditional rhetoric as crucial to an appreciation of aesthetic strategy and moral worth in plays from the Early Modern to contemporary periods. Guided by the steps of stasis theory, the author's analysis moves from matters of fact ("Is it?") to judgment ("What is it?") to the question of ultimate ethical weight: "What is it worth?" Ethos is applied as a standard for discovering a play's worth in its control of syntax, diction, and stylistic devices; likewise it is used to judge character and persuasive argument. Among the artists discussed: Shakespeare, Chekhov, Arthur Miller, David Mamet, Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, John Dryden, Thomas Otway, David Hare, Tom Stoppard, and Bernard Shaw
  • Commenting in general on plays he has seen in performance, King applies ethical theory to the values of various dramatic techniques like costume, staging, action, and role playing. As an ultimate test of the theory, his concluding chapters study plays that respond to questions of overriding moral concern: the Holocaust, apartheid, and nuclear weaponry. --Book Jacket
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
1 online resource (x, 234 pages)
Contents
  • Rhetorical ethos and dramatic theory
  • Syntax, style, and ethos
  • The worth of words
  • Memory and ethos
  • Shaw, ethos, and rhetorical wit
  • Athol Fugard's dramatic rhetoric
  • Rhetoric and silence in Holocaust drama
Isbn
9780813218113
Instance
Label
The ethos of drama : rhetorical theory and dramatic worth
Title
The ethos of drama
Title remainder
rhetorical theory and dramatic worth
Statement of responsibility
Robert L. King
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
  • "This book is at once deeply conservative and surprisingly revolutionary: conservative because it grounds drama in a traditional study of rhetoric; revolutionary because it argues that drama can have an ethos, a quality of moral authority ... The quality of King's prose is simply superb: lucid and crisp, with just the right blend of theory, contextual matter, and close textual analysis. King himself is clearly a master of rhetoric." James C. Bulman, Henry B. and Patricia Bush Tippie Professor of English, Allegheny College
  • For the first time in the history of drama criticism this book uses traditional rhetorical theory to evaluate moral values in plays from Shakespeare's time to the present. In an accessible style free of jargon, Robert King first reviews other theories and critiques of drama to show that they ignore or minimize the argument from moral worth (ethos), the rhetorical proof that earns a speaker or work its credibility. As the literary genre most dependent on an audience for its full realization, drama in performance, he argues, offers rich opportunities for rhetorical criticism while those plays of social or political relevance virtually demand an ethically grounded approach
  • Proceeding from this premise, this innovative book insists on the continuing relevance of traditional rhetoric as crucial to an appreciation of aesthetic strategy and moral worth in plays from the Early Modern to contemporary periods. Guided by the steps of stasis theory, the author's analysis moves from matters of fact ("Is it?") to judgment ("What is it?") to the question of ultimate ethical weight: "What is it worth?" Ethos is applied as a standard for discovering a play's worth in its control of syntax, diction, and stylistic devices; likewise it is used to judge character and persuasive argument. Among the artists discussed: Shakespeare, Chekhov, Arthur Miller, David Mamet, Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, John Dryden, Thomas Otway, David Hare, Tom Stoppard, and Bernard Shaw
  • Commenting in general on plays he has seen in performance, King applies ethical theory to the values of various dramatic techniques like costume, staging, action, and role playing. As an ultimate test of the theory, his concluding chapters study plays that respond to questions of overriding moral concern: the Holocaust, apartheid, and nuclear weaponry. --Book Jacket
Cataloging source
N$T
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
King, Robert L.
Index
index present
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
  • dictionaries
  • bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • English drama
  • Rhetoric
  • Theater
  • Theater audiences
  • Persuasion (Rhetoric)
  • Literature and morals
  • Ethics in literature
  • Values in literature
  • DRAMA
  • LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES
  • Ethics in literature
  • Literature and morals
  • Persuasion (Rhetoric)
  • Rhetoric
  • Theater audiences
  • Theater
  • Values in literature
Label
The ethos of drama : rhetorical theory and dramatic worth, Robert L. King
Instantiates
Publication
Antecedent source
unknown
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-230) and index
Carrier category
online resource
Carrier category code
  • cr
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Color
multicolored
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Rhetorical ethos and dramatic theory -- Syntax, style, and ethos -- The worth of words -- Memory and ethos -- Shaw, ethos, and rhetorical wit -- Athol Fugard's dramatic rhetoric -- Rhetoric and silence in Holocaust drama
Control code
ocn812915029
Dimensions
unknown
Extent
1 online resource (x, 234 pages)
File format
unknown
Form of item
online
Isbn
9780813218113
Lccn
2009040262
Level of compression
unknown
Media category
computer
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • c
Note
JSTOR
http://library.link/vocab/ext/overdrive/overdriveId
22573/ctt260504
Quality assurance targets
not applicable
Reformatting quality
unknown
Sound
unknown sound
Specific material designation
remote
System control number
(OCoLC)812915029
Label
The ethos of drama : rhetorical theory and dramatic worth, Robert L. King
Publication
Antecedent source
unknown
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-230) and index
Carrier category
online resource
Carrier category code
  • cr
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Color
multicolored
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Rhetorical ethos and dramatic theory -- Syntax, style, and ethos -- The worth of words -- Memory and ethos -- Shaw, ethos, and rhetorical wit -- Athol Fugard's dramatic rhetoric -- Rhetoric and silence in Holocaust drama
Control code
ocn812915029
Dimensions
unknown
Extent
1 online resource (x, 234 pages)
File format
unknown
Form of item
online
Isbn
9780813218113
Lccn
2009040262
Level of compression
unknown
Media category
computer
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • c
Note
JSTOR
http://library.link/vocab/ext/overdrive/overdriveId
22573/ctt260504
Quality assurance targets
not applicable
Reformatting quality
unknown
Sound
unknown sound
Specific material designation
remote
System control number
(OCoLC)812915029

Subject

Genre

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