Abstract: The article analyses the emergence of decorum as a central concept of rhetorical theory in the early 16th-century writings of Erasmus and Juan Luis Vives. In rhetorical theory, decorum shifted the emphasis from formulaic rules to their creative application in concrete cases. In doing so, it emphasized a close analysis of the rhetorical situation (above all the nature of the audience) and it underscored the persuasive possibilities of politeness and civil conversation as opposed to passionate, adversarial rhetoric. The article argues that the st...
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Topics: 
Literature
Aesthetics