Thomas de Quincey : British rhetoric's romantic turn / Lois Peters Agnew.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Agnew, Lois Peters.

Series:

Rhetoric in the modern era

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

De Quincey, Thomas, 1785-1859--Criticism and interpretation.

De Quincey, Thomas.

De Quincey, Thomas, 1785-1859--Knowledge and learning--Literature.

De Quincey, Thomas, 1785-1859.

Literature.

Criticism--Great Britain--History--19th century.

Criticism.

Criticism and interpretation.

Great Britain.

History.

Physical Description:

ix, 165 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press, 2012.

Summary:

This wide-ranging volume gives proper attention to the views on rhetoric and style set forth by British literary figure Thomas De Quincey (1785-1859), whose contributions to the history of rhetoric are often overlooked. Lois Peters Agnew presents an overview of this theorist's life and provides cultural context for his time and place, with particular emphasis on the significance of his rhetoric as both an alternative strain of rhetorical history and a previously unrealized example of rhetoric's transformation in nineteenth-century Britain.

Agnew presents an alternative vision of rhetoric that departs from many common assumptions about rhetoric's civic purpose and offers insights into the topic of rhetoric and technological change. The result is an accessible and thorough explanation of De Quincey's complex ideas on rhetoric and the first work to fully show the reach of his ideas across multiple texts written during his lifetime. Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction: Thomas de Quincey's dialogic rhetoric

De Quincey's life

Eddying thoughts and dialogical potential

De Quincey's "science of style"

De Quincey' writing: dialogic rhetoric in action

De Quincey's place in rhetorical histories.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 149-155) and index.

ISBN:

9780809331482

0809331489

9780809331499

0809331497

OCLC:

767565975