Kenneth Burke’s Weed Garden: Refiguring the Mythic Grounds of Modern Rhetoric
Kyle Jensen, "Kenneth Burke’s Weed Garden: Refiguring the Mythic Grounds of Modern Rhetoric"
English | ISBN: 0271092920 | 2022 | 236 pages | PDF | 2 MB
English | ISBN: 0271092920 | 2022 | 236 pages | PDF | 2 MB
Since its publication in 1950, Kenneth Burke’s A Rhetoric of Motives has been one of the most influential texts of theory and criticism. Critics have discovered in its pages concepts that reveal new dimensions of human motivation. And yet, despite its obvious genius, critics have interpreted A Rhetoric of Motives as a collection of provocations rather than a systematic treatment of rhetoric.
In this book, Kyle Jensen argues that the coherence in Burke’s thought has yet to be fully appreciated. Drawing on unpublished drafts and voluminous correspondence, he reconstructs Burke’s drafting and revision process for A Rhetoric of Motives as well as its recently discovered second volume, The War of Words. Jensen’s extensive archival analysis reveals that Burke relied on the concept of myth to draw together the loose ends in his argument. For Burke, all general theories of rhetoric are formed and structured using mythic images and terms.
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