All 3 Uses of
rhetoric
in
Middlemarch
- No speech could have been more thoroughly honest in its intention: the frigid rhetoric at the end was as sincere as the bark of a dog, or the cawing of an amorous rook.†
Chpt 1 *rhetoric = the use of (or study of using) words to make a point
- Moreover, if Mr. Casaubon, speaking for himself, has rather a chilling rhetoric, it is not therefore certain that there is no good work or fine feeling in him.†
Chpt 1
- He fell into meditation and finger-rhetoric again for a little while, and then continued: "I shall make Brooke have new agreements with the tenants, and I shall draw up a rotation of crops.†
Chpt 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.