3. The rhetorical canon and its components. Stage I: the invention.

General rhetoric

We turn to the consideration of the rhetorical canon.

The preparation and speaking of speech requires the exertion of all the intellectual powers of the speaker. What should be done to make the performance successful? How to make actions more rational? What is the sequence of these actions?

Even the ancient rhetorians thought about it. They studied the way of transforming thought into a word, described it, and prescribed the rules of this transformation. Since this path was developed in the ancient period, which is considered a classic for the development of rhetoric, it was called the classic rhetorical canon (translated from the Greek “canon” - a sample, a rule, a norm).

This sample shows that to achieve the goal, the speaker must go through 5 stages:

I stage - investment (Latin - invention - invention) - the invention is the content of speech. At this stage, the speaker creates a general plan for future speech, ponders the subject he is going to talk about, isolates the most important things in the topic, selects and systematizes the materials, chooses the means of evidence.

Stage II - disposition (lat. Dispositio - location) - location invented in the proper order. At this stage, the speaker thinks about the order of thoughts in speech, draws up a plan, reflects on how to start and end speech.

Stage III - elocution (lat. Elocutio - verbal expression) - speech design of the text. The stage at which the speaker expresses his own thoughts in concrete words and sentences takes care not only of correctness, clarity, relevance of the use of language units, but also decorates speech using figures and trails.

Stage IV - memorial (lat. Memorio - memorization) - memorization of speech and preparation for its utterance. At this stage, the speaker prepares the text for the utterance, selects auxiliary techniques, remembers the text and rehearses.

Stage V - actio (lat. Actio - pronouncing) - pronouncing speech. At the last stage, the speaker comes in contact with the listeners, applies all the prepared techniques, plays the speech using facial expressions, gestures, gestures, establishes and maintains contact with the listeners.

Subject number 1. Invention

An invention is the creation of the content of a statement. To create the content of a statement means to clearly and clearly define what, to whom, for what purpose, in what way, in what form, under what circumstances it is necessary to inform and what should be kept silent.

The invention is the most important part of rhetoric. Proceeding to public speech, without having previously thought about its content, means, at best, to gossip, but usually irresponsible, empty and senseless statements entail negative consequences. And the more perfect in form such rash speeches are, the more damage they cause.

The invention includes: 1) analysis of the problem situation, the definition of the subject of speech and the creation of the theme of the utterance; 2) the deployment of the topic, finding, selecting and agreeing arguments.

Analysis of the problem situation, finding and formulating the topic

The purpose of the rhetorical statement is to solve a problem that is significant to the audience. Ritor does not invent problems, but solves real-life tasks. In order for the decision to be correct and effective, the proposals made by the speaker must be justified, understood, evaluated and consciously accepted by the audience, and not imposed on it. Therefore, the provisions that are contained in the rhetorical statement are subject to discussion. “We are conferring,” Aristotle points out, “as to what seems to allow for a double solution.” The problem situation, from the analysis of which the invention begins, includes: 1) the audience; 2) the problem and the subject of speech, which are subject to discussion; 3) the speaker himself with his knowledge, abilities, experience and rhetorical preparation.

Audience - a collection of persons to whom the orator is drawn. The audience is not an accidental confluence of people, but their association based on common goals and interests. Depending on the volume and relevant means of communication (oral, written, printed, electronic), the audience is divided into focused oratorical (small, medium, large) and distributed — the audience of written and printed speech, complex education in terms of speech content and the ratio of types and forms literature

Small audiences are those in which direct dialogue is possible. Features of work in small audiences are that each participant of communication is easily included in the speech. Therefore, small audiences are used for training, interviews, meetings. Specific decisions are usually made in small audiences. Working with a small audience requires a great deal of effort and good general preparation, since the dialogic speech contains improvisation.

Mediums include audiences where the speaker can create a boundary between him and the listeners. For the rhetorician, the average audience is most favorable, because it is easily observable, does not require maximum use of voice resources, and thus allows for maneuver with the tempo and loudness of speech, intonation, look and gesture. Direct dialogue in medium classrooms is difficult, so for organizing dialogic speech they are divided into groups of several people.

Medium-sized audiences, like small ones, are preferable both for teaching and preaching, which combine monologue and dialogue, and for an oratorio, that is, one-time non-recurring speech. Public performances in the middle classrooms suggest specific training.

The large audience includes up to several hundred and even thousands of people. Opportunities of oratorical speech in large audiences are limited, since the strong tension of the voice, like the use of equipment, hampers the maneuver by the volume of the sound, the pace of speech and intonation, and the speaker can be seen poorly. Dialogue speech and complex reasoning in large classrooms are impossible.

Large audiences are poorly organized and subject to collective emotions. Therefore, the performance in front of them requires mainly personal energy, a powerful voice and the ability to communicate in a simple figurative form what is well known to the public and about which it is ready to express a general opinion by shouts of approval or censure.

Distributed Audience represent the communication environment, which is formed mainly by means of printed speech or radio television (computer) transmission of information. Communicating with such an audience will not be a major component of our immediate missionary work, but nevertheless the skill of working with such an audience should also be inherent to missionaries.

The problem of the statement is called the real difficulty, contradiction, conflict, in the resolution of which the audience is interested and to the consideration of which the ritor turns. The task of the rhetorician is to perceive the existing problem, isolate it, evaluate its significance, but in no case create a problem where it does not exist. An essential feature of the problem as an object of rhetorical utterance is its fundamental solvability by forces or, at least, the participation of the audience to which the rhetor turns. The audience should be interested in the problem, capable and ready to solve it. Therefore, the main task of the speaker is to formulate the problem, reveal its value, propose and substantiate the way to solve it, encourage the audience to take action.

The status of a problem is a matter on the basis of which the speaker makes a topic and develops the argument.

If the problem lies in the fact itself and it considers a range of questions about what exactly happened, then we are dealing with the status of an establishment — we discuss, establish and state a concrete fact. If the facts are established, but the question remains as to what they represent, what area of ​​reality they belong to, we are dealing with the status of definition . If facts are established and it is determined what they are, but the meaning is disputed, the fact qualification is unclear what specific decision should be taken, then we are dealing with an assessment status .

If the problems are discussed inconsistently and the thought jumps to a new question, without resolving the set before, then the final decision, even if it is accepted, will be superficial and imperfect. Obviously, for example, what can the discussion of a person’s guilt lead to, if it is not established whether he has actually committed the deed attributed to him.

The rule of a sequence of thoughts refers to any problem: for example, the most difficult thing in education is the direction of free will , we can only speak if there is no need to prove that free will exists and that young people need to be brought up. If the audience doubts this, then it is obvious that the discussion of the topic will have to start with questions about the need for education (definition status) or whether a person has free will (establishment status).

The subject of the utterance is the mental content of the speech, the judgment of which may be true or false.

The subject of the statement is the point of view, the side of the problem that the speaker chooses for its full and reasonable disclosure and resolution. Different subjects of speech can correspond to the same problem. In this case, the subject of speech is “the direction of human freedom” , but the speaker could choose another subject of speech to solve the problems facing his audience.

Thing statements are determined on the basis of the characteristics of the audience and of the ideas that are peculiar and interesting to it. The subject of speech is defined in such a way that it can be meaningful and relevant.

The theme of the utterance is called the main thought of the utterance, which is a judgment and expressed by a complete complete sentence (“ In education, the most difficult thing is the direction of human freedom ”).

Any reasonable, competent, expedient speech, regardless of its scope, content, form, be it an oratorical speech, a historical essay, a scientific treatise, a work of art, contains one and only one topic from which all its content is developed. In turn, the theme is a statement, speech, folded to one sentence and therefore having one concept or image as the subject of speech.

A properly formulated topic meets the following basic requirements.

1. The topic is a simple and complete sentence.

2. The topic should be short and easily reproducible.

3. The topic should be understandable both to the audience and to the orator himself. Therefore, when formulating a topic, you should avoid unusual words, special terms or words with indefinite meaning.

4. The topic should be acceptable to the audience. Therefore, when formulating it, you should avoid harsh, abusive and non-literary words and turns.

5. The topic should be interesting and relevant. Therefore, the speaker, formulating the topic, seeks to attract the attention and interest of the audience.

6. The wording of the topic should be problematic. Obvious and indisputable judgments are trivial and of little interest to anyone.