Discusses John Stuart Mill's nineteenth century treatise and reveals that it embodies the tenets of a sophisticated theory of argument. Makes clear the implications of that theory for contemporary rhetoric. (JMF)

Defines modern tragicomedy and focuses on Henrik Ibsen's play, "Little Eyolf" as representative of this literary genre. (MH)

Examines Freud's Clark Conference Lectures in which he offers a case in point of the intersection among knowledge, power, and discourse. Argues that Freud's rhetorical action constituted the "new" knowledge of psychoanalysis, while simultaneously forging relationships between the scientific and medical communities that endowed the…

Reviews criticism of Philip Wander's 1983 article, "The Ideological Turn in Modern Criticism." Shows how critics of Wander's "ideological criticism" subscribed to an essentialist notion of rhetoric, adopted a theory of innocent reading, and displayed unexamined prejudices about canonical texts. Urges academic rhetoricians to acknowledge that all…

Claims that the narrative paradigm recently proposed as a model for rhetorical criticism is problematic because of internal contradictions and inconsistencies. Argues that independent sources are lacking for judging the adequacy of a critic's claims about a text. (JD)

Examines Thomas Reid's philosophy of rhetoric and identifies the principles to which he was committed, including his classification of knowledge, emphasis on artistic expression, and theory of natural signification. (JMF)

Argues that Bitzer's situational theory accounts for forms of rhetorical creativity through the definition of controlling elements of situations, for the production of rhetoric as purposive action, and for the degree of accuracy or clarity with which observable features of situations have been interpreted. (JMF)

Examines Kenneth Burke's uses of the term "substance" as the key to his approach to language as symbolic action. Substance as consciousness achieved through verbalization is manifest in three behaviors: naming, forming, and structuring. (JMF)

Discusses J. L. Austin's treatment of perlocution and extends it to an analysis of five types of perlocution. Proposes a set of conditions necessary and sufficient for consummation of any perlocutionary act. (JMF)

Examines the concept of example in Aristotle's inventional theory. Rejects recent claims that the example reasons from part to part, without a mediating generalization, and then explicates Aristotle's view of the example. (JMF)

Discusses Frederick Jackson Turner's "Frontier Thesis" and investigates its influence on our national psychology over the years. (MH)

Probes the manner in which skilled rhetoricians have used recurring rhetorical forms to build cohesion and stimulate motivation among Americans in time of war. (MH)

Examines Kenneth Burke's use of "sheer" and "sheerly" throughout eight of his major philosophical books. (MH)

Suggests that the family metaphor that was dominant in the rhetoric of both the colonists and the British government contributed to extreme polarization of positions of the British government in London and the British subjects in the thirteen North American Atlantic colonies. (MH)