Edmund Burke’s Theatrical Rhetoric

From Physiological Responses to Political Judgement

Abstract

This paper focuses on Edmund Burke’s use of theatrical rhetoric, particularly in Reflections on the Revolution in France. We examine its analogy he drew between the theatre and society along with his other writings, such as The Reformer, A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, ‘Hints for an Essay on the Drama,’ ‘Speech on Birmingham Playhouse Bill,’ and ‘The Hastings Trial.’ Throughout his life, Burke deeply appreciated the theatre, seeing it as a reflection of manners and as something that, in turn, influenced them. He regarded the theatre as a crucial factor that could shape ordinary people’s moral judgement. Therefore, the theatre is an important vehicle for social improvement. Additionally, Burke considered tragedy to be a genre that deals with the downfall of noble figures and evokes fear and pity. He thought the portrayal of ‘the exalted rank of the persons suffering’ induced in spectators fear rooted in self-preservation, which would create a strong ‘bond of sympathy.’ Burke’s depiction of the nocturnal attack upon Marie Antoinette follows this tragic structure, aiming to provoke physiological responses based on self-preservation among his readers. In other words, his theatrical rhetoric urges them to apply the affectional responses triggered by tragic themes to the judgement of political events.