Rhetorical operations
Encyclopedia
Since classical rhetoric, the four fundamental rhetorical operations, which still today serve to encompass the various figures of speech
, have been: addition (adiectio), omission (detractio), permutation (immutatio) and transposition (transmutatio). Originally these were called, in Latin, the four operations of quadripartita ratio.
, of author unknown, where they are called ἔνδεια, πλεονασμός, μετάθεσις and ἐναλλαγή. Quintillian then mentioned them in Institutio Oratoria. Philo of Alexandria also listed them as addition (πρόσθεσις), subtraction (ἀφαίρεσις), transposition (μετάθεσις), and transmutation (ἀλλοίωσις).
Quintilian
's perspective was to see rhetoric as the science of the possible deviation from a given norm, or from a pre-existing text taken as a model. Each variation can be seen as a figure (fugures of speech or figures of thought). From this perspective, Quintilian famously formulated four fundamental operations according to any such variation can be analyzed.
One of the most complete and detailed summaries of classical rhetoric, from the perspective of Quintillian's four operations, is Heinrich Lausberg
's 1960 treatise Handbook of literary rhetoric.
, reorganized the four operations. First they observed that the so called transposition operation can be redefined as a series of addition and omission operations, so they renamed it as "omission-addition". They categorized the addition, omission and omission-addition operation as substantial operations, while they considered permutations as categorized permutation as relational operations.
They distinguished between partial and complete omissions; and between simple or repetitive additions. For an omission-addition operation, they considered it could be either partial, complete, or negative; a negative omission-addition operation is when it omits a unit and replaces it with its opposite.
, developed a method of painting research to apply the fundamental rhetorical operations in the interpretation of a work of painting. The method, called structural semantic rhetoric, aimed at determining the stylistic and aesthetic features of any painting through operations of addition, omission, permutation and transposition from a basic "zero degree" painting.
Figures of Speech
Figures of Speech is a hip hop group consisting of MCs Eve and Jyant. They performed at the Good Life Cafe in the early 1990s and were featured on the Project Blowed compilation....
, have been: addition (adiectio), omission (detractio), permutation (immutatio) and transposition (transmutatio). Originally these were called, in Latin, the four operations of quadripartita ratio.
Latin origins
The ancient surviving text mentioning them, although not recognizing them as the four fundamental principles, is the Rhetorica ad HerenniumRhetorica ad Herennium
The Rhetorica ad Herennium, formerly attributed to Cicero but of unknown authorship, is the oldest surviving Latin book on rhetoric, dating from the 90s BC, and is still used today as a textbook on the structure and uses of rhetoric and persuasion....
, of author unknown, where they are called ἔνδεια, πλεονασμός, μετάθεσις and ἐναλλαγή. Quintillian then mentioned them in Institutio Oratoria. Philo of Alexandria also listed them as addition (πρόσθεσις), subtraction (ἀφαίρεσις), transposition (μετάθεσις), and transmutation (ἀλλοίωσις).
Quintilian
Quintilian
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus was a Roman rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing...
's perspective was to see rhetoric as the science of the possible deviation from a given norm, or from a pre-existing text taken as a model. Each variation can be seen as a figure (fugures of speech or figures of thought). From this perspective, Quintilian famously formulated four fundamental operations according to any such variation can be analyzed.
One of the most complete and detailed summaries of classical rhetoric, from the perspective of Quintillian's four operations, is Heinrich Lausberg
Heinrich Lausberg
Heinrich Lausberg was a German rhetorician. His 1960 treatise , is considered one of the most complete and detailed summaries of classical rhetoric from the perspective of Quintillian's four operations.-References:...
's 1960 treatise Handbook of literary rhetoric.
Reorganization by Groupe µ
In 1970, the Belgian semioticians known under the name Groupe µGroupe µ
Groupe µ is the collective pseudonym under which a group of Belgian 20th-century semioticians wrote a series of books, presenting an exposition of modern semiotics....
, reorganized the four operations. First they observed that the so called transposition operation can be redefined as a series of addition and omission operations, so they renamed it as "omission-addition". They categorized the addition, omission and omission-addition operation as substantial operations, while they considered permutations as categorized permutation as relational operations.
They distinguished between partial and complete omissions; and between simple or repetitive additions. For an omission-addition operation, they considered it could be either partial, complete, or negative; a negative omission-addition operation is when it omits a unit and replaces it with its opposite.
Rhetoric of the image
The Belgian semioticians known under the name Groupe µGroupe µ
Groupe µ is the collective pseudonym under which a group of Belgian 20th-century semioticians wrote a series of books, presenting an exposition of modern semiotics....
, developed a method of painting research to apply the fundamental rhetorical operations in the interpretation of a work of painting. The method, called structural semantic rhetoric, aimed at determining the stylistic and aesthetic features of any painting through operations of addition, omission, permutation and transposition from a basic "zero degree" painting.