I'm usually not much for introduction chapters, but this one rocks. It opens with a persuasive bit regarding why classical rhetoric is necessary, and I especially like the definition of rhetoric that it puts forth: "As such, [rhetoric] has always concerned itself with the human capacities to reason, to create, to imagine, to move and be moved by means of language." What's important here is the fact that the authors include a human element, since so many definitions refer only to the language itself. And how can you have language without people? I mean, who makes the stuff?

On page x, they go on to state that one cannot fully understand contemporary rhetorical theory without understanding classical rhetorical theory:

"Rhetoric's present predicament, in and of itself, makes little or no sense; it is meaningless. Understanding it requires something else, something from which we can distinguish it or with which we can compare it. That 'something else' is afforded by rhetoric's past. However, rhetoric's past in itself, no matter how interesting, is ultimately useless. But when considered in the light of its present, rhetoric's past can help us understand why the present is the way it is."

From there, we take a quick look at the history of both Greco and Roman rhetoric. Both followed a primarily oral tradition, but the Greeks seem to have been more egalitarian. They expected citizens -- i.e. everyone -- to be able to defend themselves, and to engage in public oratory. In contrast, the Romans reserved this act for "people of priviledge and wealth" (xiii).

"Demands for rhetorical know-how were placed not on the ordinary citizen, but on the senator, the public administrator, the general, and the advocate."

I rather wish that a Certain Someone had required "The Significance of Theory" as reading in undergrad Rhetorical Theory. It's so simply laid out and beautifully done. It might have saved me a semester or so of confusion and rebellion. If nothing else, I wish I'd read it earlier today before I posted my "Where I Stand" essay for my expository students to read. I wrote about how theory (the bits of it I understand, anyway) brings a new clarity to my life. And here come Poulakos/Poulakos to tell me that "The term theory comes from the Greek word theoria, which means 'seeing,' 'viewing,' 'observing,' 'contemplating.' ... It offers a conceptual orientation by means of which people approach, and try to make sense out of, the contents of their experience" (xiv). I would have loved to have had that to throw in with everything else I was carrying on about.