A practical and accessible guide to identifying and using rhetorical devices in plays, past and present. An unprecedented reference book for actors, directors, playwrights and teachers – written by practitioners for practitioners.

Giles Taylor and Philip Wilson address in detail – yet in straightforward terms – the many different rhetorical forms used in drama, and enable the reader to analyze their effect. The study of rhetoric can give an insight into character and intention, thereby unlocking a text for a performer or director, and providing inspiration for contemporary playwrights.

Dramatic Adventures in Rhetoric may be read from cover to cover, or it may be dipped into: it is both an analytic tool and a reference for use in the rehearsal room or for study purposes. The book includes hundreds of examples, from almost 300 plays by 140 playwrights from the Renaissance to the modern day.