Dialogues of persuasion: the Reformation dialogues printed on the Continent during the reign of Henry VIII

This thesis examines how English Reformation-dialogues printed on the Continent during the reign of Henry VIII used the persuasive techniques of the dialogue-form to act as advocates for Reform. All English Reformation-dialogues printed on the continent during the reign of Henry VIII employ the same techniques the form offers them. As is shown in this thesis these are the establishment of a truth, the instruction of the reader in that truth, the monologic exposition of arguments disguised as a conversation, the tailoring of arguments to the expectations of the audience and the utilisation of a containment-strategy, allowing the author to neutralise any counter-claims to his arguments. This renders the English Reformation-dialogues from 1527 to 1547 formulaic, but allows for the establishment of clear interpretative framework for them. The five rhetorical devices the dialogue authors consistently employed in order to produce a polemic of Reform can be used as a guide to reading those texts. By analysing how and for what purpose the Reformers utilised these rhetorical devices of the dialogue-form this thesis sets up an interpretative framework for the Reformation-dialogues of Henry VIII's reign based on criteria inherent to the form and demonstrates its effectiveness as a tool of textual-persuasion.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

m_ph

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

m_ph

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Birmingham

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Kranzer, Lisa Viktoria

• DA Great Britain