Książę Niccola Machiavellego jako przykład zastosowania toposu zakulisowości

Journal Title: Res Rhetorica - Year 2019, Vol 6, Issue 1

Abstract

To explain the phenomenon of the popularity of Machiavelli's Prince one has to point out the mode of communication that is used by the author. He has presented himself as a professional in the field of politics, and he wants to see his readers as professionals as well. The typically cold and seemingly unadorned style of Machiavelli’s prose underlines the impersonal relation between the author and his object of consideration. In the framework of rhetorical theory, this mode of communication can be described as searching for the ways to gain, as Kenneth Burke would put this, rhetorical consubstantiation. The speaker talks to the audience in a manner that is characteristic of backstage communication, giving them the hope to be joining a community of professionals. They can join this community by following the master of the political art: Machiavelli himself. This mode of communication can be found elsewhere in literature, especially where the element of cynicism appears, as its nature consists in precisely this form of rhetorical backstage speaking. It is present in the parts of Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War and on the pages of Plato’s dialogues, where the founder of the Academy confronts Socrates’ moralism with the immoralist perspectives of the sophists.

Authors and Affiliations

Marcin Pietrzak

Keywords

Related Articles

Książę Niccola Machiavellego jako przykład zastosowania toposu zakulisowości

To explain the phenomenon of the popularity of Machiavelli's Prince one has to point out the mode of communication that is used by the author. He has presented himself as a professional in the field of politics, and he w...

Commitment to the Truth: Parrhesiastic and Prophetic Elements of Paul’s Letter to the Galatians

Paul writes to the Galatians in the New Testament to bridge the two realms of cultural Judaism and Roman Imperialism. In this analysis of the letter written to the church of Galatia, we see both Hebraic prophecy and Gree...

The eristic of newsworthiness in the representation of Barnevernet controversy: A case study of the Norwegian Child Welfare Service

This study offers a critical evaluation of news values by four selected contemporary media outlets: BBC News, The Federalist, OneEurope and Dagbladet. The material covers the controversy around the Norwegian Child Welfar...

Examining Mother Teresa’s narrative as prophetic: A case study

This paper examines a rhetorical case—Mother Teresa's narrative—for evidence of prophetic qualities, including social calls to action. Mother Teresa's story is considered through established methods of investigating prop...

Alojzego Felińskiego stosunek do pieniędzy i dóbr materialnych

Materiał badawczy stanowią wybrane fragmenty epistolografii Alojzego Felińskiego, poety tworzącego na przełomie XVIII i XIX wieku. Do analizy wybrano korespondencję, którą poeta prowadził z Michałem Wyszkowskim, Adamem J...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP509595
  • DOI 10.29107/rr2019.1.6
  • Views 75
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Marcin Pietrzak (2019). Książę Niccola Machiavellego jako przykład zastosowania toposu zakulisowości. Res Rhetorica, 6(1), 87-98. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-509595