Rhetoric in the English Educational System, 1520-1550.

Abstract

The sixteenth century witnessed political, religious, and educational changes in Engl and that were subsequently to influence rhetorical history. This study has examined grammar-school educational materials of the English schools during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI for the period 1520-1550. A specific purpose was to discover if the shift in spoken and written language to English was reflected in the focus and content of rhetoric, in turn tied to the political and religious milieu of the English Reformation. Four separate visits were made to Engl and for locating primary materials that would assist filling the existing gap in knowledge of rhetoric during the English Reformation. The study focused on the political, religious, and educational environment of the Reformation viewed against the background in which rhetoric was formulated, exercised, and taught. The historical basis for the study was established through the English rhetorical heritage, with an investigation of the controversy regarding classical languages versus the vernacular for rhetorical education. Two representative treatises--Leonard Cox's The Arte or Crafte of Rhethoryke and Richard Sherry's A Treatise of Schemes and Tropes--were analyzed, interpreted, and evaluated to demonstrate specific changes reflected by the Reformation and the officially sanctioned shift to English. Resultant findings are: (1) The Reformation may not have been solely responsible for continued development and acceptance of the English language, but was a prominent, contributing factor requiring political action for adoption by the Church of Engl and ; (2) changes were instituted in educational governance and directions in which education led, but the process remained virtually identical to that previously existing; (3) the political and religious shift to English fostered educational modifications, transferring emphasis to the written English word; (4) rhetorical texts produced for grammar-school use stressed study of vernacular composition and expression, while retaining Latin for students planning university study; (5) representative works selected for analysis demonstrated movement to a native basis for rhetoric, focusing on the vernacular as the newly acceptable medium for idea transmission; (6) the selected treatises are important to rhetorical history for promoting utilization of English and demonstrating a change in content emphasis from invention to style; and (7) Leonard Cox and Richard Sherry were leaders by supporting Anglicization of rhetoric as reflected in the nature, format, and intent of their works. Conclusions of this study are that changes introduced in the sixteenth century following the English Reformation produced long-lasting effects for rhetoric and the total educational system; works composed in the mid-sixteenth century reflected a new and unique approach by focusing on written English rhetoric with content stressing style; and rhetorical instruction gained a new direction with emphasis on creating and analyzing written compositions, including poetry and prose, rather than preparing materials for oral presentation.