The Commonplace

The commonplace has a diverse and multifaceted history. In one setting it is just one of a number of figures of speech. In another it is an element of the particular "progymnasmata" of "amplification" in the complexity of advanced rhetorical theory. In another setting, it is an excuse for collecting thoughts, facts, moral principles, and other happenings in a book (as in a book of commonplaces). For my online rhetoric class my students are required to collect commonplaces, and submit one a week to a contest. I will then post the class' best of the best, and the world will know the winner. Hence, one of the primary functions of this blog from this point on will be to showcase the commonplaces of my rhetoric students. In a sense, our use is indeed another use than those listed above. We are recording "striking thoughts" for the purpose of noting what works, rhetorically. So, there is your short explanation of what follows.