Welcome to Francis Academic Press

Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, 2023, 6(14); doi: 10.25236/AJHSS.2023.061403.

The Exploration of the Rhetorical Motives in Sons and Lovers through the Perspective of Dramatic Rhetorical Criticism

Author(s)

Guangze Zhou

Corresponding Author:
Guangze Zhou
Affiliation(s)

University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200082, China

Abstract

The dramatism paradigm proposed by the famous American rhetorician, Kenneth Burke, is widely favoured in the field of contemporary rhetorical criticism. Based on Burke's theoretical framework of the "dramatic five-position", this paper analyzes the five elements of the three stages of self-formation, self-exploration and self-reconstruction of the protagonist, Paul, in Lawrence's Sons and Lovers and their relationship ratio, revealing the repressed nature and complex psychology of the low and middle class in late nineteenth century in England. Paul's reverence for primitive human instincts and the pursuit of freedom criticized the aberrant emphasis on material civilization in industrial Britain at that time, invisibly exposing the writer's rhetorical motivations for his work.

Keywords

Five elements of dramatism; Rhetorical motives; Sons and Lovers; Primitive instincts; Aberrations

Cite This Paper

Guangze Zhou. The Exploration of the Rhetorical Motives in Sons and Lovers through the Perspective of Dramatic Rhetorical Criticism. Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences (2023) Vol. 6, Issue 14: 11-15. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJHSS.2023.061403.

References

[1] Zhong Zhijing. Analysis of online news crisis public relations discourse from the perspective of dramatist rhetorical criticism - taking the statement of the Huyi Hotel incident as a sample [J]. News Knowledge, 2016(11):14-18. 

[2] Burke Kenneth. A Rhetoric of motives [M]. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969:43. 

[3] Deng Zhiyong. Rhetorical theory and rhetorical philosophy: a study of Kenneth Burke, the great rhetorician [M]. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969:43. Shanghai: Xue Lin Publishing House, 2011:166. 

[4] Zhou Hongbing. The dramatist paradigm of rhetorical criticism and its application in political speeches: the example of Obama's speech [J]. Journal of Hubei University (Philosophy and Social Science Edition), 2016, 43(03):155-158. 

[5] Wang Xingrui. The son and the lover in the perspective of "personality structure" theory [J]. Peony, 2022(08):93-95. 

[6] Lu Yu, Xu Dan. Interpreting Miriam's personality traits in Sons and Lovers from personality structure theory [J]. English Square, 2022, (12):32-34. 

[7] Zhang Qing. The struggle with Mrs. Morel: "Anti-control" in Sons and Lovers [J]. Writers' World, 2022(19):62-64.