Rhetoric is the third part of the classical Trivium system; a system of learning and education utilised throughout antiquity which remains effective to this day.

Rhetoric concerns the "sailing" or use of a given subject. Hence, when we learn the Rhetoric of any subject we learn the way that it is put to active us in the world and in particular, how it is communicated to others. This is why Rhetoric is often regarded as the art of effective communication. It is when we are able to communicate our understanding of a given subject that we can truly be said to have mastery of it.

This is why Rhetoric is the third part of the Trivium. We use it assuming a degree of meaning in our symbols; words, terms and even the skills that we use. This is done during Grammar.

When we communicate something, we assume basic meaning (gained through Grammar) and a basic coherence and structure of our understanding (gained through Logic). Hence, with both of these parts placing the foundation and structure in place, we are finally able to put that structure to use and make our learning relevant to the world around us and – especially – to the people in it.

Throughout this course you will learn what Rhetoric is and the main approached that we can take to it. You will discover and why Rhetoric is not only relevant to poets and politicians but to all who want to communicate their ideas in an effective way.