The rhetoric and poetics of speech and debate: resituating and re-disciplining literary argument

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe relationship between rhetorical and literary arts has been tenuous since ancient Greece. In the modern academy, rhetoric and poetics remain siloed, with problematic implications for speech and debate activities. I argue that literature is inherently rhetorical, and that the relegation of literature as separate and lesser is a disservice to forensic education. Offering analysis of literary argument in competitive speech events, this essay provides an alternative in embracing the power of literature to articulate its own arguments without clarification through traditional argumentative structure. By emphasizing literary argument as part of a rhetorical exchange, I contend that meaning is co-produced among competitors and judges, and that the shared experience of literary performance is powerful and valuable on its own.