Rhetoric, science, & magic in seventeenth-century England / Ryan J. Stark.
2009
PE1083 .S73 2009eb
Linked e-resources
Details
Title
Rhetoric, science, & magic in seventeenth-century England / Ryan J. Stark.
Author
Stark, Ryan J., author.
Spine Title
Rhetoric, science, and magic in seventeenth-century England
ISBN
9780813218892 (electronic bk.)
0813218896 (electronic bk.)
9780813215785
0813215781
0813218896 (electronic bk.)
9780813215785
0813215781
Imprint
Washington, D.C. : Catholic University of America Press, ©2009.
Language
English
Description
1 online resource (vii, 234 pages)
Call Number
PE1083 .S73 2009eb
System Control No.
(OCoLC)707926680
Summary
"Rhetoric operated at the crux of seventeenth-century thought, from arguments between scientists and magicians to anxieties over witchcraft and disputes about theology. Writers on all sides of these crucial topics stressed rhetorical discernment, because to the astute observer the shape of one's eloquence was perhaps the most reliable indicator of the heart's piety or, alternatively, of demonry. To understand the period's tenor, we must understand the period's rhetorical thinking, which is the focus of this book. Ryan J. Stark presents a spiritually sensitive, interdisciplinary, and original discussion of early modern English rhetoric. He shows specifically how experimental philosophers attempted to disenchant language. While rationalists and skeptics delighted in this disenchantment, mystics, wizards, and other practitioners of mysterious arts vehemently opposed the rhetorical precepts of modern science. These writers used tropes not as plain instruments but rather as numinous devices capable of transforming reality. On the contrary, the new philosophers perceived all esoteric language as a threat to learning's advancement, causing them to disavow both nefarious forms of occult spell casting and, unfortunately, edifying forms of wonderment and incantation. This fundamental conflict between scientists and mystics over the nature of rhetoric is the most significant linguistic happening in seventeenth-century England, and, as Stark argues, it ought profoundly to inform how we discuss the rise of modern English writing."--Jacket.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-225) and index.
Formatted Contents Note
Introduction: the new plainness
Charmed and plain tropes
Language reform in the late seventeenth century
Natural magic
Demonic eloquence
Meric Casaubon on rhetorical enthusiasm
John Dryden, new philosophy, and rhetoric
Conclusion: the importance of philosophy of rhetoric.
Charmed and plain tropes
Language reform in the late seventeenth century
Natural magic
Demonic eloquence
Meric Casaubon on rhetorical enthusiasm
John Dryden, new philosophy, and rhetoric
Conclusion: the importance of philosophy of rhetoric.
Source of Description
Print version record.
Available in Other Form
Print version: Stark, Ryan J. Rhetoric, science, & magic in seventeenth-century England. Washington, D.C. : Catholic University of America Press, ©2009
Linked Resources
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