Rhetorical Criticism and Philosophical Rhetoric in Kenneth Burke's "New Rhetoric"

In the contemporary scene, characterized by the rehabilita-tion of rhetoric, Kenneth Burke (1897-1993) has made decisive contributions that have made him one of the fundamental fig-ures of the "new rhetoric" and, perhaps, of a possible "rhetorical turn". Through a systematization of the projections of rhetoric in the different moments of his work, this article identifies Burke's contributions to contemporary rhetoric, weigh the transforma-tions that his approach introduces in the rhetorical tradition, and discuss the range of his rhetorical criticism. In his work, we witness an amplification of rhetorical criticism, to the point of formulating a dialectical and philosophical rhetoric that succes-sively emerges as a rhetoric of philosophy, a philosophy of rhet-oric, and a rhetorical or dramatic philosophy. Burke's rhetorical criticism constitutes a privileged path for any project of general rhetoric and rhetorical renewal.