Magic, mimesis, and revolutionary praxis: Illuminating Walter Benjamin's rhetoric of redemption

This essay illuminates the rhetorical contributions of Walter Benjamin, a critical intellectual whose insights about the liberatory role of the engaged social agent warrant closer attention in our discipline. In his written discourse, Benjamin attempted to develop a powerful means of social critique, the ethos of which I argue is propelled by a revolutionary rhetoric of redemption. Infusing a radical Messianic vision of a return to wholeness and purity with a concern for the living, breathing, historically situated actor, Benjamin made a unique case for the decisive function of critical intervention. As a forerunner to contemporary critical rhetorical studies, his ideas provide fruitful avenues for examining contemporary texts and rhetorical issues.