All 3 Uses of
rhetoric
in
Don Quixote
- is, from beginning to end, an attack upon the books of chivalry, of which Aristotle never dreamt, nor St. Basil said a word, nor Cicero had any knowledge; nor do the niceties of truth nor the observations of astrology come within the range of its fanciful vagaries; nor have geometrical measurements or refutations of the arguments used in rhetoric anything to do with it; nor does it mean to preach to anybody, mixing up things human and divine, a sort of motley in which no Christian understanding should dress itself.†
Chpt 1.0rhetoric = the use of (or study of using) words to make a point
- The girls, who were not used to hearing rhetoric of this sort, had nothing to say in reply; they only asked him if he wanted anything to eat.†
Chpt 1.1-2 *
- The landlord, to get him out of the inn, replied with no less rhetoric though with shorter words, and without calling upon him to pay the reckoning let him go with a Godspeed.†
Chpt 1.3-4
Definition:
the use of (or study of using) words to make a point -- typically implying skillful use
Rhetoric is used with many connotations. "Effective rhetoric" has a positive connotation, If someone says something is "just rhetoric," they're implying that the words may make a good surface impression, but they are lacking in substance.