Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres

by Hugh Blair, Linda Ferreira-Buckley (Editor), S. Michael Halloran (Editor)

This new edition of Hugh Blair’ s Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, edited by Linda Ferreira-Buckley and S. Michael Halloran, answers the need for a complete, reliable text. The book seeks to generate a renewed interest in Blair by provoking new inquiries into the tradition of belletristic rhetoric and by serving as both aid and incentive to others who may join in the project of improving understanding of this landmark rhetorical scholarship.

This edition contains forty-seven lectures and remains faithful to the text of the 1785 London edition. The editors contextualize Hugh Blair’ s motivations and thinking by providing in their introduction an extended account of Blair’ s life and era. The bibliography of works by and about Blair is an invaluable aid, surpassing previous research on Blair.

Although the extent of its influence cannot be measured fully, Blair’ s Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres was undoubtedly a primary vehicle for introducing many eighteenth- and nineteenth-century scholars to classical rhetoric and French belletristic rhetoric— its success due in part to the ease with which the lectures combine neoclassical and Enlightenment thought, accommodating emerging social concerns. Ferreira-Buckley and Halloran’ s extensive treatment revives the tradition of belletristic rhetoric, improving the understanding of Blair’ s place in the study of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century discourse, while finding him relevant in the twenty-first century.

Genres: Nonfiction

640 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1783

About the author

Hugh Blair FRSE was a Scottish minister of religion, author and rhetorician, considered one of the first great theorists of written discourse. He was a significant figure in the Scottish Enlightenment and is best known for his Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres (1783), a prescriptive guide to composition.

In 1783 Blair was one of the founder members of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He served as its Literary President from 1789 to 1796.

Reviews

[Brian Fitzroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is absolutely amazing! I loved it. The guy can write, better than any person I've ever read. He can critique pretty well too. He gives insights that only a genius can give. This is just like the title says, Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lectures. He writes in a way completely opposite of the typical modern professor who can't write a single sentence without pretentious jargon. He even critiques those types of writers. If you want to edit, profess, speak, write, or just compose something, here is your guide. Make sure, however, that you know grammar pretty well, otherwise things might go over your head. I didn't have to read it for a class, but I did read it for fun; and I had a lot of fun with it, because, well, there is a lot to read. If you have to read it, just like anything you are assigned, good luck enjoying it. I knew going into it I didn't need luck, I had a strong desire to learn from this master rhetor. I gave away my copy of it to a friend, but I'll get another copy and write a more detailed review. Until then, the only thing left to say is that make sure you have a bookstand...or really strong wrists ;)

[Michael Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

We must always remember that there are few facts more important to a successful life than establishing Blair's place in Eighteenth-Century British rhetorical theory. I can't stress this enough because the psychological-epistemological accounts of those years were at the very foundation of Blair's sense of style and eloquence. The shift away from the influence of the orator was made possible by the printing press. When 'our' minds were altered by that technology, scanning and grapheme awareness overrode the importance of active listening. The old model was 'let's listen to the speaker' while, in the modern era, 'let's read the printed word.'

How do you hold an audience using only the printed word? This is the fundamental problem. Because humans are more than those who scan a screen or printed text; they also verbalize, they also need to hear a voice. What had been the excellence of the rhetor, the one who speaks to others, is now the author, the one who writes for others. This is why we are thoroughly confused as a group of people: do we want literacy or do we want rhetoric? We need both.

[Woody]

[only vol. 1]

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brainy fellow that Hugh Blair. Highlights: local, current, national writing; passion and emotion; naive as a good thing; thinking it out first; plenty of admiration of Addison.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to say whether or not I "liked" this. I wouldn't have read it if not for research. But I find his ideas interesting and easy to read.