Introduction to Early Modern English Book

We must always remember that there are few facts more important to a successful life than establishing Blair's place in Eighteenth-Century British rhetorical theory. I can't stress this enough because the psychological-epistemological accounts of those years were at the very foundation of Blair's sense of style and eloquence. The shift away from the influence of the orator was made possible by the printing press. When 'our' minds were altered by that technology, scanning and grapheme awareness overrode the importance of active listening. The old model was 'let's listen to the speaker' while, in the modern era, 'let's read the printed word.'

How do you hold an audience using only the printed word? This is the fundamental problem. Because humans are more than those who scan a screen or printed text; they also verbalize, they also need to hear a voice. What had been the excellence of the rhetor, the one who speaks to others, is now the author, the one who writes for others. This is why we are thoroughly confused as a group of people: do we want literacy or do we want rhetoric? We need both.