A Rhetorical Analysis Of Kairos

Kairos seems bound to any definition or discussion of rhetoric. Equally significant is appropriateness: whether called context, prepon, or decorum. These concepts represent the need for audience awareness for effective rhetoric. Considering Poulakos’ description of potentiality, this makes sense: “[The rhetorician’s] way is not that of an abstract absolutism created in the spirit of a priori truths; rather, it is that of a relativism of concrete rhetorical situations to which situationally derived truths are the only opportune and appropriate responses” (Poulakos 30). The notion of relativism in rhetorical situations can be seen in any example. No situation is exactly like another; there is no guarantee that an audience can be moved by a predetermined

She explains, “Kairos is the ancient term for the sum total of ‘contexts,’ both spatial (e.g., formal) and temporal (e.g., epistemic), that influence the translation of thought into language and meaning in any rhetorical situation” (291). Sophist Gorgias viewed kairos as knowing when to speak and when not to speak, even praising the dead for their ability to stay silent (Poulakos 28). Kairos, then, shows our ability to measure and navigate contexts in each situation. How a rhetor then responds highlights both the rhetor’s ethos and their understanding of prepon. To speak is to take a risk, and an audience’s willingness to accept or reject the rhetor’s argument is tied to the rhetor’s ability to negotiate a rhetorical

Poulakos points out that “style is an inescapable reality of speech, one that must be attended to necessarily” (27). Style, in the way he explains, focuses on the effective employment of language, which indicates the rhetor’s unique and personal style. It is through practice and understanding of rhetoric that we develop our style – we can craft our style based on the situation and in an effort to continue to refine. Style is also essential to ethos. Poulakos notes, “style betrays the speaker’s unique grasp of language and becomes the particular expression of his personality” (27). In a kairotic moment, the rhetor seizes the opportunity to highlight a particular facet of his or her skill. Though rhetoric is an art, and though effective rhetoric demands attention to style, timing, and knowledge, there are other elements that require attention. There are numerous ethical and emotional dimensions that function within rhetoric. These dimensions are immeasurably important, particularly given the epistemological and relativistic nature of rhetoric.

Ethical and Emotional