Based on the idea that an individual cannot understand literature, philosophy, or rhetoric without knowing the field's historical content, this book traces the evolution of the growing and ever-changing field of composition/rhetoric through numerous schools of thought, including Platonism, Aristoteleanism, New Criticism, and the current poststructuralism. After a discussion of the main themes of classical rhetoric, the book offers a historical analysis of the rhetoric of 18th and 19th centuries, focusing briefly on the works of George Campbell, Hugh Blair, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The book divides the current field of composition/rhetoric into five categories: current-traditional rhetoric, romantic rhetoric, neo-classical rhetoric, new rhetoric, and new stylistics. An entire chapter in the book is devoted to the work of I. A. Richards and Kenneth Burke. The final chapter of the book offers an analysis of poststructuralism influence on composition--discussing New Criticism, deconstruction, feminist criticism, and postmodernism. The book includes a glossary of terms which should be helpful for any teacher. (NKA)