Practical oratory and the art of prose: Aristotle's theory of rhetorical style and its antecedents

Aristotle's account of lexis at Rhetoric, Book 3, effectively canonized the subject of style in the rhetorical art. However, Aristotle's stylistic doctrine is puzzling in several significant respects. A few of Aristotle's remarks betray a startling ambivalence toward the very subject of style. His explanations of specific stylistic principles are often underdeveloped and occasionally inconsistent. Finally, the scope of Aristotle's account of style is difficult to determine, as it appears to apply equally to oratory and to more strictly literary modes of prose composition.; This dissertation contends that many of the problematic aspects of Aristotle's stylistic theory are best understood against the background of earlier reflections on the subject of style. I argue that Aristotle's conception of style can be viewed as a response to the debate between Alcidamas and Isocrates. On the one hand, Alcidamas had established a view of rhetorical style that emphasized pragmatic spontaneity; rhetorical style was functional and should be judged solely by its effectiveness within an immediate context of speaking. Isocrates, on the other hand, conceived rhetorical style in terms more nearly related to the formal, aesthetic excellence of literary discourse.; Aristotle's account refines a number of central distinctions proposed in the writings of these earlier rhetoricians: between poetry and colloquial speech, between written and oral styles, and between the styles suited to specific oratorical genres. In the end, however, Aristotle's stylistic theory represents a rather awkward compromise between the perspectives offered in the Alcidamas-Isocrates debate. Aristotle's account shifts uneasily between functional and aesthetic perspectives. Recognition of this feature of his text helps to explain Aristotle's ambivalence toward style and the lack of a clear orientation for his stylistic prescriptions. I conclude that many of Aristotle's stylistic principles betray a subtle bias toward the polished literary work as exemplified by the writings of Isocrates. In contrast, Aristotle shows little appreciation for the style of practical oratory, an attitude indicated in his hesitancy to cite examples of genuine forensic and deliberative speeches and in his belated recognition of a distinct "agonistic" style of rhetorical debate.