A new work of scholarship in the 'practice' of rhetorical reading
This monograph provides readings of literary and philosophical texts that work through the rhetoric of tropes to the material inscription at the origin of these texts. The book focuses on the practice and pedagogical value of rhetorical reading. Its readings follow an itinerary from poetic texts (such as those by Wordsworth and Keats) through theoretical or philosophical texts (by Descartes and Nietzsche) to narrative fiction (by Henry James). The book also contains two essays on Paul de Man and literary theory and an interview on the topic of Deconstruction at Yale." All three of these latter texts are explicitly about the inescapable function and importance of the rhetoric of tropes for any critical reading or literary study worthy of the name.
As Andrzej Warminski demonstrates, โrhetorical readingโ is a species of โdeconstructive readingโโin the full โde Manianโ senseโbut one that, rather than harkening back to a past over and done with, would open the texts to a different future.
Key Features:
- New readings of texts by Wordsworth, Keats, Descartes, Nietzsche, and Henry James
- Essays and an interview on Paul de Man and โDeconstruction at Yaleโ
- Reflects on and exemplifies the pedagogical value of โde Manianโ rhetorical reading
- Attempts to open a future for 'deconstructive' or 'de Manian' reading