Introduction: “The Death of Rhetoric” by Terry Eagleton
“The Death of Rhetoric” by Terry Eagleton first appeared in 1983 in the New Literary History journal. Eagleton’s essay has been influential in shaping discussions about the role of rhetoric in literature and literary theory, particularly in the context of postmodernism and the decline of traditional literary criticism. His argument, that rhetoric has been marginalized or dismissed in favor of other critical approaches, has sparked debates about the importance of language and style in understanding literary texts.
Summary of “The Death of Rhetoric” by Terry Eagleton
- Poetry as Performative and Rhetorical:
- Poetry emphasizes the experience of meaning rather than just extracting abstract truths.
- “No poem reports on an experience without casting a continual sideways glance at itself.”
- Poetic language is not merely reflective but constitutive of meaning, focusing on its rhetorical effect.
- T.S. Eliot’s Poetic Technique:
- Eliot’s poetry, such as in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, deliberately plays with meaning.
- The unusual metaphors, such as the evening resembling a “patient etherized upon a table,” serve to illustrate the dislocation of modern sensibility rather than provide direct meaning.
- “The image concerns form, not content.”
- Poetry’s Corporeal Nature:
- Poetry engages not just the mind but the body, infiltrating the reader’s unconscious.
- “The poem goes about its proper task of raiding the reader’s unconscious and stimulating his nerve endings.”
- The physicality of language in poetry restores the material richness that everyday speech loses.
- Rhetoric’s Decline:
- Historically, rhetoric analyzed verbal strategies and their effects in social and political contexts.
- Over time, “rhetoric” became a term for manipulative language, signaling the decline of its true meaning.
- “It is a symptom of the loss of this legacy that the term ‘rhetoric’ ended up denoting bombastic or manipulative language.”
- The Sensory Basis of Human Rationality:
- Eagleton draws on Thomas Aquinas’ idea that human rationality is shaped by our bodily existence, suggesting we are inherently poetic beings.
- “We think the way we do because of the kind of bodies we have.”
- Failure to Grasp Performative Aspects:
- Many literature students struggle to engage with the rhetorical and performative aspects of texts, focusing too much on content over form.
- “They are able to produce statements like ‘Heathcliff may be full of erotic energy’ but not, by and large, statements such as ‘The poem’s exuberant tone is curiously at odds with its shambling syntax.’”
- Instrumentalization of Language:
- The commodification of language in modern society has dulled its aesthetic and rhetorical richness.
- “Beneath the failure to grasp literary texts as performative lies a language that has grown commodified and bureaucratized.”
- Cultural and Social Influences on Literary Sensitivity:
- The lack of sensitivity to literary forms is not due to students’ lack of intelligence but is a result of broader cultural and socio-political conditions.
- “In the end, they are a question of culture in the broad, anthropological meaning of the term rather than of culture in its literary or aesthetic sense.”
- Hope for Literary Education:
- Despite the bleak outlook on the state of rhetoric, Eagleton argues that sensitivity to language and its forms can be taught.
- “The good news, however, is that sensitivity to verbal forms and devices can most certainly be taught.”
Literary Terms/Concepts in “The Death of Rhetoric” by Terry Eagleton
| Literary Term/Concept | Description | Reference from the Article |
| Rhetoric | The art of persuasion and analysis of verbal strategies and their effects, especially in social and political contexts. | “Rhetoric meant both the analysis of verbal strategies and their performative effects within certain social and political contexts.” |
| Performative Language | Language that emphasizes its own form and effect rather than just conveying a meaning. | “What matters is its rhetorical effect, not its abstractable sense.” |
| Metaphor | A figure of speech that describes one thing as if it were another, used here to highlight human sensory rationality. | “Metaphor…was the most suitable medium for our discourse…we are, so to speak, intrinsically poetic beings.” |
| Form vs. Content | The distinction between the structure and style of a text (form) and its meaning (content). | “The image concerns form, not content.” |
| Aesthetic | Initially a term referring to sensation and perception; later associated with art and beauty. | “The opposite of aesthetics is not philistinism but anesthetics.” |
| Signifier and Signified | Terms from structural linguistics; the signifier is the form of a word, while the signified is the concept it represents. | “Most students of literature…fail to see the signified in terms of the signifier.” |
| Close Reading | A detailed analysis of a literary text focusing on its form, language, and structure. | “Literary theory may have its vices, but a failure to read closely, with due attention to formal strategies, is not among them.” |
| Commodification of Language | The reduction of language to a mere tool for communication, stripped of its aesthetic and rhetorical richness. | “Beneath the failure to grasp literary texts as performative lies a language that has grown commodified and bureaucratized.” |
| Phenomenology | A philosophical approach that emphasizes the role of lived experience in shaping perception and understanding. | “Two centuries later, the term for this sensory rationality would be…phenomenology.” |
Contribution of “The Death of Rhetoric” by Terry Eagleton to Literary Theory/Theories
| Literary Theory | Contribution from “The Death of Rhetoric” | Reference from the Article |
| Rhetorical Theory | Eagleton reaffirms the centrality of rhetoric as an analytical tool for understanding language’s performative effects and social function. | “Rhetoric meant both the analysis of verbal strategies and their performative effects within certain social and political contexts.” |
| Formalism/New Criticism | The article underscores the importance of form and style, suggesting that the meaning of a text emerges from its rhetorical and formal properties. | “Poetry is the place where the performative, rhetorical dimensions of speech rise to supreme self-consciousness.” |
| Post-Structuralism | Echoing post-structuralist concerns, Eagleton highlights how meaning is deferred, stressing that language works through its form rather than a fixed meaning. | “Conscious meaning keeps the mind harmlessly preoccupied while the poem goes about its proper task of raiding the reader’s unconscious and stimulating his nerve endings.” |
| Phenomenology | Eagleton draws from phenomenology, particularly its focus on lived experience and the material nature of language, to stress that poetry engages bodily and sensory experience. | “Language for Wittgenstein takes the shape it does because of the specific form of life with which it is interwoven.” |
| Marxist Literary Theory | The article critiques the commodification of language under capitalist conditions, linking it to a loss of aesthetic and rhetorical sensitivity in society. | “The sign does not fare well in social orders dominated by a crassly instrumental rationality. It is stripped of its sensuous specificity and reduced to a mere communicative token.” |
| Structuralism | Eagleton engages with the structuralist notion of the relationship between signifier and signified, emphasizing the importance of analyzing the materiality of the sign. | “Most students of literature…fail to see the signified in terms of the signifier.” |
| Aesthetic Theory | The concept of aesthetics as a sensory rationality, historically linked to Enlightenment thought, is extended to show how modern societies have lost this sensitivity. | “The aesthetic in its modern sense began life as a kind of prosthesis to Enlightenment reason.” |
| Critical Pedagogy | Eagleton discusses the challenges of teaching sensitivity to language in a commodified culture, pointing to the need for a more engaged form of literary education. | “Sensitivity to verbal forms and devices can most certainly be taught. The question is who is going to teach it…who will educate the educators.” |
| Cultural Theory | Eagleton suggests that the decline of rhetorical reading is tied to broader cultural shifts in late-modern civilization, especially regarding language and its commodification. | “In the end, they are a question of culture in the broad, anthropological meaning of the term rather than of culture in its literary or aesthetic sense.” |
Key Contributions:
- Rhetorical Theory: Eagleton revitalizes rhetoric as a lens for literary analysis, emphasizing its social and political significance beyond mere stylistic ornamentation.
- Formalism/New Criticism: He advocates for close attention to form, tone, rhythm, and rhetorical strategies, which are essential to understanding the meaning of a text.
- Post-Structuralism: Eagleton aligns with post-structuralist views by stressing the indeterminacy of meaning and the centrality of form over content in literary texts.
- Marxist Literary Theory: The article critiques how capitalist societies devalue language by reducing it to an instrument for communication, thus undermining its aesthetic and performative qualities.
- Phenomenology & Aesthetic Theory: Drawing on phenomenology, Eagleton emphasizes the embodied and sensory dimensions of language, especially in poetry, where form is as critical as content.
- Cultural Theory: The piece links the decline of literary sensitivity to the broader socio-political context, particularly under late-modern capitalism, where language becomes commodified.
Examples of Critiques Through “The Death of Rhetoric” by Terry Eagleton
| Literary Work | Critique Focus | Critique Through Eagleton’s Lens | Reference from Eagleton |
| The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot | Form vs. Content and Rhetoric | Eliot’s use of dislocated metaphors (e.g., “patient etherized upon a table”) prioritizes rhetorical effect over determinate meaning. | “What matters is its rhetorical effect, not its abstractable sense.” |
| Hamlet by William Shakespeare | Rhetorical and Performative Dimensions of Language | Hamlet’s final words (“The rest is silence”) emphasize the performative nature of language, reflecting the broader rhetorical framework of the play. | “Beneath the failure to grasp literary texts as performative lies a language that has grown commodified and bureaucratized.” |
| The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot | Complexity of Form and Sensory Experience | The fragmented form of The Waste Land engages the reader’s sensory experience, emphasizing form over coherence, reflecting modern dislocation. | “The poem goes about its proper task of raiding the reader’s unconscious and stimulating his nerve endings.” |
| Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë | Failure to Grasp Performative and Rhetorical Elements | The complex narrative structure and unreliable narrators in Wuthering Heights are often overlooked, though they play a key performative role. | “Most students of literature today…fail to see the signified in terms of the signifier.” |
Criticism Against “The Death of Rhetoric” by Terry Eagleton
- Overemphasis on Form Over Content:
- Critics may argue that Eagleton places too much importance on the form and rhetorical elements of a text, potentially downplaying the significance of thematic content and narrative meaning.
- Romanticizing the Past:
- Eagleton laments the decline of rhetoric in modern civilization, but some may view this as a romanticization of the past, idealizing earlier rhetorical traditions without fully acknowledging the evolution of language and its current uses.
- Neglect of Popular or Non-Elite Texts:
- The article primarily focuses on high literary works and neglects the performative aspects of more popular or non-elite texts, which may also demonstrate complex rhetorical strategies.
- Cultural Determinism:
- Eagleton’s argument that the commodification of language is tied to socio-political and economic factors may be seen as overly deterministic, not allowing for individual agency in the use and appreciation of language.
- Lack of Practical Solutions for Teaching Rhetorical Sensitivity:
- While Eagleton critiques the loss of rhetorical awareness in literary education, he provides limited practical advice for educators on how to reintroduce or teach these skills effectively.
- Dismissal of Modern Theoretical Approaches:
- Eagleton critiques late-modern language use but may be seen as dismissive of more contemporary literary theories (e.g., postmodernism, deconstruction) that embrace the fluidity of meaning and the transformation of language.
- Elitist View of Language and Literature:
- Some may argue that Eagleton’s perspective aligns with an elitist view of language, focusing on high art and literary sophistication, potentially alienating more accessible or diverse forms of expression.
Representative Quotations from “The Death of Rhetoric” by Terry Eagleton with Explanation
| Quotation | Explanation |
| “Poetry is the place where the performative, rhetorical dimensions of speech rise to supreme self-consciousness.” | Eagleton emphasizes that poetry is the pinnacle of language’s self-awareness, where the way words are used (rhetoric) is as important as their meaning. |
| “No poem reports on an experience without casting a continual sideways glance at itself.” | This highlights how poetry reflects on its own form and structure, drawing attention to the act of its creation, not just the content or message it conveys. |
| “The image concerns form, not content.” | Eagleton explains how in modern poetry (especially in Eliot’s work), images and metaphors are more about their rhetorical and formal effects than any concrete meaning. |
| “Conscious meaning keeps the mind harmlessly preoccupied while the poem goes about its proper task of raiding the reader’s unconscious.” | The quotation illustrates Eagleton’s view that poetry operates on a deeper, unconscious level, affecting the reader’s emotions and instincts rather than delivering clear meaning. |
| “Rhetoric meant both the analysis of verbal strategies and their performative effects within certain social and political contexts.” | Here, Eagleton recalls the classical meaning of rhetoric as not just style, but a means of analyzing the broader social and political implications of language. |
| “Beneath the failure to grasp literary texts as performative lies a language that has grown commodified and bureaucratized.” | He criticizes the way modern society treats language, reducing it to a functional tool rather than appreciating its rich, performative potential. |
| “The aesthetic in its modern sense began life as a kind of prosthesis to Enlightenment reason.” | This reflects Eagleton’s argument that the concept of aesthetics originally developed as a way to bridge reason and sensory experience, helping rationality connect with lived experience. |
| “Most students of literature today…fail to see the signified in terms of the signifier.” | Eagleton critiques the current state of literary education, arguing that many students cannot appreciate the formal properties of language (signifier) in relation to meaning (signified). |
| “In the end, they are a question of culture in the broad, anthropological meaning of the term rather than of culture in its literary or aesthetic sense.” | He suggests that literary sensitivity is shaped by larger socio-political and cultural forces, not just literary theory or academic teaching. |
| “To eradicate the past is to help abolish the future, since the past…contains precious emancipator resources for ages to come.” | Eagleton expresses concern about the modern disregard for history, arguing that the loss of memory and tradition undermines society’s potential for progress and liberation. |
Suggested Readings: “The Death of Rhetoric” by Terry Eagleton
- Eagleton, Terry. The Event of Literature. Yale University Press, 2012.
- Derrida, Jacques. Of Grammatology. Translated by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997.
- Barthes, Roland. S/Z: An Essay. Translated by Richard Miller, Hill and Wang, 1974.
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374521677/sz - Fish, Stanley. Is There a Text in This Class? The Authority of Interpretive Communities. Harvard University Press, 1980.
https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674467262
· Academic Articles:
- Jameson, Fredric. “Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism.” New Left Review, no. 146, 1984, pp. 53-92.
- Ricoeur, Paul. “The Function of Fiction in Shaping Reality.” Man and World, vol. 12, no. 2, 1979, pp. 123-141.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01252424 - Waugh, Patricia. Metafiction: The Theory and Practice of Self-Conscious Fiction. Methuen, 1984. https://www.routledge.com/Metafiction-The-Theory-and-Practice-of-Self-Conscious-Fiction/Waugh/p/book/9780416326304