Words as the Measure of Measure for Measure: Shakespeare’s Use of Rhetoric in the Play

The document presented strays from the form of a traditional historical or literary paper to assume the shape of an analytical catalogue of the most frequent (and some rarer) figures of rhetoric used by Shakespeare in the play. While it is true that rhetoric, conceived as the art of persuasion, is m...

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Main Author: Jean-Marie Maguin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte" 2013-01-01
Series:Sillages Critiques
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/2618
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author Jean-Marie Maguin
author_facet Jean-Marie Maguin
author_sort Jean-Marie Maguin
collection DOAJ
description The document presented strays from the form of a traditional historical or literary paper to assume the shape of an analytical catalogue of the most frequent (and some rarer) figures of rhetoric used by Shakespeare in the play. While it is true that rhetoric, conceived as the art of persuasion, is met under various forms and preferences in all ages, it is a less calculated pursuit in our world. Shakespeare and his contemporaries were systematically taught rhetoric in the grammar school and it offered therefore a more conscious resource than it does nowadays. The high concentration of a type of figure goes a long way to establish the general atmosphere of the play world or define the profile of a character. An inclination to resort to similes (fully formulated comparisons) rather than metaphors (incomplete comparisons) – see Julius Caesar for example – imposes on speech a hefty, didactic structure, well away from the condensation and speed with which metaphors key us into a poetic alternative to daily reality.
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spelling doaj-art-c17efb296b064b82a7a5e25353f646092025-01-30T13:46:39ZengCentre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte"Sillages Critiques1272-38191969-63022013-01-011510.4000/sillagescritiques.2618Words as the Measure of Measure for Measure: Shakespeare’s Use of Rhetoric in the PlayJean-Marie MaguinThe document presented strays from the form of a traditional historical or literary paper to assume the shape of an analytical catalogue of the most frequent (and some rarer) figures of rhetoric used by Shakespeare in the play. While it is true that rhetoric, conceived as the art of persuasion, is met under various forms and preferences in all ages, it is a less calculated pursuit in our world. Shakespeare and his contemporaries were systematically taught rhetoric in the grammar school and it offered therefore a more conscious resource than it does nowadays. The high concentration of a type of figure goes a long way to establish the general atmosphere of the play world or define the profile of a character. An inclination to resort to similes (fully formulated comparisons) rather than metaphors (incomplete comparisons) – see Julius Caesar for example – imposes on speech a hefty, didactic structure, well away from the condensation and speed with which metaphors key us into a poetic alternative to daily reality.https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/2618ShakespeareMeasure for Measurerhetoric
spellingShingle Jean-Marie Maguin
Words as the Measure of Measure for Measure: Shakespeare’s Use of Rhetoric in the Play
Sillages Critiques
Shakespeare
Measure for Measure
rhetoric
title Words as the Measure of Measure for Measure: Shakespeare’s Use of Rhetoric in the Play
title_full Words as the Measure of Measure for Measure: Shakespeare’s Use of Rhetoric in the Play
title_fullStr Words as the Measure of Measure for Measure: Shakespeare’s Use of Rhetoric in the Play
title_full_unstemmed Words as the Measure of Measure for Measure: Shakespeare’s Use of Rhetoric in the Play
title_short Words as the Measure of Measure for Measure: Shakespeare’s Use of Rhetoric in the Play
title_sort words as the measure of measure for measure shakespeare s use of rhetoric in the play
topic Shakespeare
Measure for Measure
rhetoric
url https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/2618
work_keys_str_mv AT jeanmariemaguin wordsasthemeasureofmeasureformeasureshakespearesuseofrhetoricintheplay