In Bain’s English Composition and Rhetoric we are presented with a complete break down of the parts involved in rhetoric. He divides these based on what each is intended to influence. For, instance poetics is a form of rhetoric intended to exercise the feelings of the listener, whereas description is intended to influence the understanding of the listener.  These influences are broken along the three groups which rhetoric is intended to influence according to Bain, these are the Understanding, the Will and the Feelings. However, he says that the Will is influenced by the Understanding and the Feelings. In other words, a person’s decisions are influenced by his knowledge and his emotions. Thus as rhetoricians the goal is to influence either the Understanding or the Feelings.

He then proceeds to list the methods which can be used to influence another. I find this interesting as Bain seems to focus more on the actual practice of rhetoric rather then on the morality and the intention of the rhetorician. His writing seems more concerned with the actual methods employed by the rhetorician. Here we see one example of what might be described as a how to for rhetoric. He also explains what the purpose of each of these methods might be. For instance, similitudes, the comparison of two things together for similarity, are intended to make a difficult subject more easily intelligible to the listener. He then lists some examples of similitudes which a rhetorician might use in his own rhetoric.

As a guide this is a very comprehensive study of the methods used by a rhetorician and provides a rather complete understanding of what should be used in an argument and too what purpose. This in particular is very useful. By breaking down the methods by their intended purpose a rhetorician can have a better understanding of how to construct his argument in order to more properly achieve his goal. As an example, similitudes might be a good choice to affect people’s Understanding, by making a difficult concept easy to understand, but may not have the same effect on an audience’s Feelings.