The Rhetoric of Exemplarity in Early Modern England

Michael Ullyot's study argues that exemplarity is a recursive cycle driven by rhetoricians' words and readers' actions, and that positive moral examples are aspirational models of readers' posthumous biographies. He defines the three types of decorum on which exemplary rhetoric and imitation rely and charts their operations through Philip Sidney's poetics, Edmund Spenser's poetry, and the dedications, sermons, elegies, biographies, and other occasional texts about Robert Devereux, second earl of Essex, and Henry, Prince of Wales. The study concludes that all exemplary subjects suffer from the problem of metonymy, and that its own rhetorical methods are exemplary.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 03 March 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

In this comprehensive study, Michael Ullyot delves into two novel arguments regarding the rhetoric of exemplarity in late Elizabethan and Jacobean culture. Firstly, he posits that exemplarity operates as a recursive cycle, propelled by the words of rhetoricians and the actions of readers. Secondly, he challenges the notion that positive moral examples can be replicated, suggesting that they serve as aspirational models for readers' posthumous biographies.

To illustrate his points, Ullyot examines the rhetorical strategies employed by various writers, including Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser, and the dedications, sermons, elegies, biographies, and other occasional texts related to Robert Devereux, the second earl of Essex, and Henry, Prince of Wales. By expanding the definition of occasional texts to encompass those that critique their circumstances in order to advocate for better ones, Ullyot historicizes moral exemplarity within the contexts of sixteenth-century Protestant memory and humanist pedagogy.

The Rhetoric of Exemplarity in Early Modern England culminates in a crucial conclusion: that all exemplary subjects face a common problem known as metonymy. This objection arises because their chosen excerpts fail to fully represent the missing parts of their overall narratives. This problem, which also plagues historicist literary criticism, is acknowledged by this study, which recognizes that its own rhetorical methods are exemplary.

Through his meticulous analysis and insightful observations, Ullyot offers a profound exploration of the rhetoric of exemplarity in early modern England, shedding light on its complex dynamics and its enduring significance in the literary and cultural realm.

Weight: 544g
Dimension: 164 x 240 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192849335