Astell’s View on Rhetoric and Words

From the short introduction on Mary Astell (p.841-846) it is known that Astell held similar views as Ramus in regards to rhetoric. “For the design of Rhetoric is to remove those Prejudices that lie in the way of Truth, to Reduce the Passions to the Government of Reasons; to place our Subject in a Right Light, and excite our Hearers to a due consideration of it” (p.853, second column). Astell thought nature was the best teacher of eloquence/rhetoric, which played in women’s favor since schooling was limited.

However, as I continued reading Astell’s work I was intrigued in the passage that said, “And since the Clearness and Connexion as well as the Emphasis and Beauty of a Discourse depends in the great measure on a right use of the Particles, whoever wou’d Write well ought to inform themselves nicely in their Proprieties. a[n] And, a The, a But, a Fore, Etc. do very much perplex the Sense when they are misplac’d, and make the Reader take it many times quite otherwise than the Writer meant it” (p.853, second column). This section reminded me of the reading we did last week on Locke and how words carry multiple meanings, thus making the use of each word important in rhetoric. Astell’s did not go as in depth as Locke did about the use of words, but the fact that she mentioned it in her section about rhetoric made it interesting and important. Even if the view Astell held on rhetoric was somewhat downplayed, the importance and placement of words is still a key tool in being a rhetorician.