Rhetoric In The Pastons

Letter to Letter: An Analysis of the Letter Writing Rhetoric in The Pastons
During a time when the shift from oral story-telling shifted into the written word, letter writing was constructed in society. As seen in The Pastons, the written exchanges between the members of the Paston family varied from business matters to more intimate and personal conversations as the writer and recipient were a considerable distance apart from one another. As part of the written tradition, there is a pattern of rhetoric that is constructed as a guide for Middle Age letter writing—beginning with the salutatio, or salutation. As important as every component to the letter writing rhetoric is, the salutatio upholds the elegance and respect that tradition expected from society, even the Paston family. Establishing the salutatio as the most important component of the letter, I believe that the other components fall into place as the outline of the rhetoric and allow readers to understand the significance of this tradition and the written word for the purposes intended in The Pastons.
In the beginning of each letter there is an elegant greeting to begin the conversation between the writer and the recipient, …show more content…
I believe that letters are less common in today’s society because of the advancement of technology, but letters are not complete underheard of—whether this is a business letter, a college acceptance or a intimate letter between partners—the outline of a letter adheres to the traditional rhetoric as one can see in the Paston family letters. Society has evolved, but the sentiment that comes from sending a letter for the interest of wishing the recipient well and keeping them informed about the events surrounding the writer is the elegant component that illustrates the societal ‘rules’ or expectations of Middle Age