The Art of Persuasion

 

A gulp of red wine stung the throat of Anastasios as he stood. A question came to mind: what is the most important element of life? He was gathered among fellow philosophers, surrounded by drunken ramblings of the most sacred things of humanity in the home of his friend, Chares. Wine was passed around like grapes while the two exotic dancers that Chares had to entertain slowed their hips to settle down as everyone turned to Anastasios. It was time to observe, to think, to discuss. The group of men had themselves situated comfortably, their eyes coated with a metaphysical curosity as they scanned the man that stood before them. They were ready. They were ready for the words to inspire them, to set them on this quest to discover an answer to such a giant question.

Rhetoric is an art of persuasion, and it played a huge part of the lifestyle of the Ancient Greeks. It was a spectacle—everyone gathered around to hear speeches and join in on debates, even gathered around for public hearings and court cases to listen in on how the defendant was going to outsmart his opponent. People were tutored for free in the art of persuasion; some even paid Sophists to make them better rhetoricians by the end of the day. It was an activity that everyone participated in because they were pioneers, trying to figure out how the world works.

The Ancients established theories on how to better themselves when it came to persuading their audiences. They created a commonplace in order to get people on the same page before diving in to argue, which is evident in the Dialogues of Plato. The stasis theory and the five canons of rhetoric (invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery) helped shape the words that even Anastasios would be saying to the men that surround him. For centuries, rhetoric has continued to evolve as multiple people develop theories on how the language should be communicated. And to this day, we’ll continue to use rhetoric as a tactic without even realizing it, convincing people to be on our side no matter if we’re right or wrong.

As a creative writer I would love to accommodate the theories of rhetoric into my own storytelling. Stories must have the ability to persuade readers in order to keep them engaged, to keep them begging for more. In my writing, I focus on the psychology of anti-heroic and tragic characters, exploring the motivation that drives them to do what they do. I'm hoping rhetoric could help me strengthen them, to make them so well-rounded that people are compelled to stick with them. These characters have to be able to be sympathized and to be able to do that they must be strongly persuasive. It can be a tricky journey but I'm thinking that this class can set me on the right track in making sure that my stories get where they need to be. And hopefully, in the near future, I'll have an enthusiastic audience just like Anastasios had for his compelling speech.