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January 19, 2006
where we come from (authorship 24.2/25)
Corbett, Edward P.J. "The Theory and Practice of Imitation in Classical Rhetoric." College Composition and Communication 22 (1971): 243-50.
1 sentence summary: imitation--as both a key theoretical element and set of practices--was fundamental to ancient rhetoric, in many ways that correspond to activities we still occasionally conduct--but with less intentionality and less pervasiveness--in today's classrooms.
the point:
the desired product of a (writer's) rhetor's work wasn't always conceived of in ways that isolate authors and their ideas from all others in service of the god of originality; classically rhetors learned to do what they do from the works of others, and were expected to--not critiqued for--trying on the words of others, practicing their patterns and approaches, and absorbing (sometimes by way of direct memorization) in order to use, the language of their forebears.
(do i really need to quote bits to make this point?)
Posted by ttobryan at January 19, 2006 08:03 PM