Fénelon's recommendations to the French academy concerning rhetoric

Abstract

The rhetorical theory set forth in Fénelon's Letter to the Academy (1716) was a protest against seventeenth century rhetorical practices. Fénelon rejected the rigid rules of arrangement characteristic of Ramistic rhetoric and instead advocated organization according to the demands of the subject. He emphasized substance and content rather than form, thereby criticizing the overreliance on tropes and figures predominant in seventeenth century oratory. Fénelon believed that a worthy rhetoric should be designed to instruct and reform, rather than merely to entertain, an audience. Advocating rhetoric as a social instrument and calling for a natural, conversational mode of speech, Fénelon's recommendations have substantial significance for modern rhetorical theory.