Hanno H. J.

Ehses

Representing Macbeth: A Case Study in Visual Rhetoric

1) Quoted in R. Stacey, The Canadian Poster Book(Toronto: Methuen,1979), 58.

Introduction The creative process of finding appropriatedesign solutions to visual problems would become more accessible and more probable, and could be enriched if designers were more conscious of the underlying system of concept formation. Instead, they seem to use it intuitively. In adapting contemporary semiotic and rhetoric theory, the following study of Macbeth posters endeavours to present an operational model of concept formation that is often identified with the creative process. Semiotics, the doctrine of signs, explains the principles that underlie the structure of signs and their utilization within messages, and rhetoric, the art of persuasion, suggests ways to construct appropriate messages. Speaking out on concept formation and the problems involved in designing a poster for a theater play, J. Shadbolt, the designer, remarked: "The psychological problem was what slowed down the process. I would read the actual play, consider carefully its overall impact, and then try to convey with the totality of my design something of that precise import. It's easy to make an elegant decoration, but quite another thing to evoke exact implication."1 Shadbolt's remark addresses some fundamental problems in the design activity, and directs special attention to the following questions: How is meaning created visually in design? What is the routing that leads from the text of a play (or any other statement) to a concept and its visualization in a poster (or a book cover or trademark)? What is the nature of the relationship between the figurative image and the text? These questions are all related to the process of signification, that is, the coding dimension that precedes all message transfer and communicative interaction. To find answers to these questions and to illuminate the process of arriving at a design solution, this article will examine the relevance of rhetoric to design and explore some of its basic principles. The semiotic structure of coding and the rhetorical characteristic that governs the visual appearanceof a poster will also be discussed. In addition, the operational potential of rhetoricalprocedure for design in conjunction with the outcome of a recent case study is demonstrated.

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2) Edward P. J. Corbett, Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student, 2nd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1971), 625-30.

Design and rhetoricalprinciples Rhetoric, generally speaking, is concerned with the functional organizationof verbal discourse or messages.It operateson the in both a rabasisof logicalandestheticmodesto affectinteraction tional and emotionalway. Accordingto Aristotle,rhetoricis concernedwith "discoveringall the availablemeans of persuasionin any givensituation"eitherto instructan audience(rational appeal), to pleasean audienceand win it over (ethicalappeal),or to move it is eloquence,whichis de(emotionalappeal).The objectof rhetoric the attifinedas effectivespeechthatmakesit possibleto determine tude of people in orderto influencetheiractions.The possibilityof influencing and being influenced presupposesthe possibility of choice. Choice is a key term in rhetoricas well as design, as both pertain to making appropriateselections of means to achieve a desired end. Design, as a communication-oriented discipline, is motivationsand governedby and must pay attentionto pragmatic functional considerations. Inasmuch as the spirit of rhetoric is also pragmatic, this situationgives designa rhetorical dimension. is Despite all the negativeconnotations,persuasion not necessardevice, but rathera socially acceptableform ily an underhanded of reasoning.During the past few decades,I. A. Richardsand C. Perelman in particularhave been influential in freeing rhetoric from articulated prejudices.2 At present, the exponents of the "new rhetoric"contend that even the simplestutterances arepragmatic, that is, functionally determinedand, therefore,persuasive.Accordingto this school of thought, "Almost all human reasoning about facts, decisions, to be basedon opinions, beliefs, andvaluesis no longerconsidered the authorityof AbsoluteReasonbut insteadintertwined with emotional elements, historical evaluations, and pragmatic motivations. In this sense, the new rhetoric considers the persuasive discourse not as a subtle fraudulent procedure but a technique of 'reasonable' human interaction controlled by doubt and explicitly subject to many extralogical conditions."3 Because all human communication is, in one way or another, infiltrated rhetorically, design for visual or verbal communication cannot be exempt from that fact. Although rhetoric has developed as a method that deals fundamentally with speaking and writing, rhetorical principles have been transferredinto various other media, as well. This has been indicated by E. R. Curtius4 and R. Lee,5 both of whom refer to rhetoric and its relationship to painting, architecture, and music. The potential value of the rhetorical system within a semiotic framework was also realized by G. Bonsiepe, who published the article "Visual/Verbal Rhetoric" in 1965.6 Essentially concerned with analyzing advertisements, Bonsiepe demonstrated that visual rhetoric is possible on the basis of verbal rhetoric. In 1968, M. Krampen remarked that "a careful study of classical rhetoric could

3) Umberto Eco, A Theory of Semiotics (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1976), 277.

4) E. R. Curtius, European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1953), 77-78. 5) Renssalaer Wright Lee, Ut Pictura Poesis: The Humanistic Theory of Painting (New York: W. W. Norton, 1967). "Visual/Verbal 6) G. Bonsiepe, Rhetoric," Ulm 14/15/16 (1965).

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lead to a catalog of rhetoricaldevices that are capableof visual

7) Martin Krampen, "Signs and Symbols

duplication."7 In light of these suggestions,

ten figures of speech

in Graphic ommunicationDesign
Quarterly 62 (1968):18.

wereselected for thiscasestudy.Thetenthatwerechosen suggest

an obvious potential for visual duplication.What preciselyconstitutessuch a rhetorical figure, and what is its position within the rhetorical system? The system of classicalrhetoricformulates preceptsfor the production of a messageand traditionally is dividedinto five phases (see Fig. 1). I Inventio: Discovery of ideas/arguments Concernedwith finding and selectingmaterialin supportof the subjectmatterand relevant to the situation.

II Dispositio: Arrangementof ideas/arguments Concerned with organizing the selectedmaterial into an effective whole (statement of intent). III Elocutio: Form of expressingideas/arguments or detailedshaping of the organized materiStylistictreatment al in consideration of the followingcriteria: * Aptum: appropriateness with referenceto subjectmatter and context * Puritas:correctness of expression * Perspicuitas: of expression comprehensibility * Ornatus:deliberate adornment of expression IV Memoria:Memorizationof speech V
Fig. 1)

Pronunciatio:Delivery of speech Concerned with voice and gestures,but also with appropriate setting.

The thirdphaseis of particular interest,as it coversthe stylistic featuresthat have alreadybeen referredto as figures of speech. Accordingto Quintilian,rhetoricalfiguresgeneraterules that can be looked upon as meansof "lendingcredibility to our arguments" and "excitingthe emotions." He also consideredthe use of these in a new form"to givea mesfiguresas "theartof sayingsomething and The essence of a rhetorical sagegreater vitality impact. figureis an artful departure from the ordinary and simple method of speaking. It should be added that these figures do not refer to rather,they should be viewed as abstract ready-made expressions; terms that can be filled out. operational The notion thatstylisticdevicesaresimplythe "dressof thought" needsto be erased.Accordingto E. Corbett,"Styledoes providea vehiclefor thought, andstyle can be ornamental; but style is somemore than that. It is another of the available meansof perthing
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the appropriate emotional suasion,anotherof the meansof arousing responsein the audience,and anotherof the meansof establishing the properethicalimage. If the studentadopts this functionalnotion of style... he will begin to regardstyle in the way Stendhal conceivedof it: 'Style is this: to add to a given thoughtall the circumstances fittedto producethe whole effectthatthe thoughtis in415 Rhetoric, 8) Corbett,Classical

tended to produce.' "8

9) J. DeMille, The Elementsof Rhetoric (New York: Harper and Brothers,

1878).

Rhetoricalfiguresare usuallydividedinto two groups, schemes and tropes. Whereasthe formerare definedas departures from the are of in words a sentence ordinarypositioning ("Uncomplicated young people, sometimes,"as opposedto "Youngpeoplearesometimesuncomplicated"), fromthe the latteraredefinedas departures thirsts for of or idioms words ("Theground ordinarysignification as needs rain," opposedto "Thegroundis very dry and rain"). To delineatebuilding blocks of concept formation,this article must concentrate on the tropes. The natureof the trope can be exthe plainedby followingexample.In "He was a lion in battle,"the term lion is the departedsubstitutereferring to the substitutedex"undaunted pression unconquerable fighter."The person is not a lion in actuality,but only in some transferred sense. Althoughthe substituteword appears only rarelyor occasionally,the substituted words represent the ordinaryor habitualmode of expression.The occasionaldeparture involvesa changein meaningbecauseit results in effectsthat aredifferentfrom the ordinarymode of expression. Differentclassifications of figuresof speechhavebeenadoptedby various writers in the past. In adopting a classificationfor this study, DeMille's Elements of Rhetoric9and Corbett's Classical Rhetoric for the ModernStudentservedas guides.The classification is as follows: Figuresof contrast * Antithesis:the juxtapositionof contrastingideas, for example, "By the time the walletis empty,life will befull." * Irony:an expression thatconveysa meaning oppositeto its literal of a widow her life savingswas for meaning, example,"Robbing a act." noble certainly Figuresof resemblance * Metaphor: a impliedcomparisonbetween two things of unlike nature,for example,"Thecolorfuldisplaywas a magnetfor anybody in the room." * Personification: a comparison whereby human qualities are assignedto inanimateobjects, for example,"The thatch-roofed cottagesin the valleyseemedto be asleep." Figuresof contiguity * Metonymy: the substitution of terms suggesting an actual nature thatcanbe of causal,spatial,or chronological relationship

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(cause instead of effect, instrument for agent, author for work, container for contained, and produce for producer), for example, "The White House (President of the United States) reduced her troops in Europe," or "He had always been a great lover of gold (money)." * Synecdoche: the substitution of a more inclusive term for one that is less inclusive or vice versa, the nature of which is quantitative, for example, "Canada (Canadian team) won the competition" or "He lived for a week under my roof (house)." * Periphrasis: circumlocution, the indirect reference by means of well-known attributes or characteristics, for example, "to go to a better world" instead of "to die." * Puns: a play on words, using words that sound alike but have different meanings, for example, "Check in here for the rest of your life (Wandlyn Motel)."

Figuresof gradation
* Amplification: the expansion of a topic through the assemblageof relevant particulars, for example, "He used all the means at his disposal: radio, TV, brochures, posters, advertisements, and so forth." * Hyperbole: the exaggeration of an object beyond its natural and proper dimensions, for example, "Jan's friends tracked a ton of mud through the hallway." Any departure from the ordinary way of expression endows the expression with a strong dynamic tension directed either toward the ordinary (making the hallway terribly dirty) or away from it (tracked a ton of mud through the hallway). The less known the trope, the longer the tension span. It is a necessary condition for all figures of speech that they presuppose a basic understanding of grammatical forms and lexical content from which departure is possible. Figurativevariations cannot ignore the grammarof the language inasmuch as any change for a greater effect must respect grammaticalpossibilities. Because the basic understanding is determined by the grammar and rhetoric is build upon its fundamentals, rhetorical procedure is also referredto as constituting a secondary grammar. Furthermore, both grammars participate in successive generations of order. However, in using the aforementioned rhetorical figures, a lower literal order is transformed into a higher rhetorical order, giving the expression more vitality. The difference is characterized by the word money depicting an image of coins and bills (literal order) as opposed to money being illustrated metonomically by the trademarks of several major Canadian banks (rhetorical order). Thus, the effectiveness of a rhetorical figure always depends on the audience's ability to perceive the difference between the substitute and the substituted way of expression. DESIGN ISSUES

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Whetherthe literal or rhetoricalorder is used dependson the numberof structuredrelationshipsthat have materialized, which also impliesreferenceto pre-existingculturalknowledgethat predates a design. The connection between both orders is one of balancing two oppositional forces, the obvious and the new. Whereas the obvious tends toward satisfying expectations by the new moves towardupsetting respondingto existingstandards, with lesser those standards of a novel andatypicalapproach by way as relationto existingexpectations. This situationmay be described a state of mutual equilibrium between both preservative and changeable forces. In responding to existing expectations and supplying somethingunexpectedat the same time, a design proin additionto a ducesa challenge (a pleasantor unpleasant surprise) renewedand extendedperspective.
From concept formation to visual form Visual communication takes place on the basis of more or less conventionalized signs belonging to many kinds of codes of disparate languages. A theater poster is seen as a message representing a complex of signs built on the basis of codes, conveying certain meanings that are interpretable on the basis of either those same codes or different ones. Concept formation coincides with the process of coding insofar as the designer assumes and activates codes by correlating selected graphic devices with selected culturally sanctioned meanings, thus binding something present with something absent. The process of coupling these two opposed units is called signification, an act whose product is a sign. A sign according to C. S. Peirce is "something that stands to somebody for something [else] in some respect or capacity."10Thus, the possession of codes allows readers to draw relationships, for example, between a poster titled "Macbeth" and an actual play by Shakespeare. Codes can stimulate a variety of interpretations by allowing the designer to draw relationships between the play Macbeth itself and concepts such as "crowned beast," "sinister king," "curse of evil actions," "scene from an actual theatre production," and many more. Signification operates on the basis of denotative as well as connotative codes, both of which draw upon different experiences. Anything derived from the visual perception of a literal reading of a theater poster is denotative, while anything derived from additional experiences and associations or symbolic readings is connotative. Whereas denotation is referential and direct and tends toward monofunctionality (a theater poster as a vehicle whose sole function is to announce the play), connotation is suggestive and indirect and tends toward polyfunctionality (a theater poster suggests a whole host of shared assumptions and possible functions). Thus, while the posters shown at the end of this article refer to the play Macbeth and are denotatively interchangeablein announcing the play, they are connotatively quite different. It follows, then,

10) Quoted in Eco, Theoryof Semiotics, 15.

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11) See Eco, Theory of Semiotics, 51-57.

- in additionto conventionalized dethat any act of signification notations- must consciously take into account the breadthand complexityof connotations. An inquiry into concept formationand rhetorical coding must a modelthat from toward backward the result hypothetical proceed is the result of the a theater the To this end, explains process. poster interplayof two sign systems title of play and graphicimagethatelucidate andcomplement eachother.Thisis possiblein theater the of the imageis assumedto be inbecause posters signification to certainattritentional;the signifiedsof the messagecorrespond in butes or associations of the play that are graphically transmitted the clearestway. Therefore,the graphicimageis seen as a seriesof a statement aboutthe play or abouta specifictheatsignsreplacing ricalinterpretation of the play. It represents a conceptanalogous to a writtenprecis. Having a more focused object of study, the next step involves which conditionsof graphicsignification, outliningthe elementary also includesa wider application than that of the designof theater posters.A visualsystem such as that of theaterpostersis the result formsandthe set of two coordinated sets:the set of possiblegraphic of plays to be announced(see Fig. 2). Accordingto a schemeproall graphicforms correspondto level of posed by L. Hjelmslev,11 expression;all plays to level of content. On both levels, a form

encoding Graphic

formation Concept Rhetorical pattern: Metaphor

= result of

Macbeth King beast Content Play Macbeth Content as human = result of Macbeth as Expression? Expression? (King (graphic image)
human beast)

Fig. 2)

or discourse)is distinguished from a (play/graphic representation substance(text characteristics/graphic means).The couplingof the two oppositionally sets of formsdetermines the semiotic structured structure of the visual system. The structure itself becomes semiotic,sinceeachof the two formsinvolvedcontainsinformation over andabovethatpertaining to its own set. The additional charge of information is obtainedthroughthe correlation of the signified the deliberately image,thusdetermining play andsignifyinggraphic fixed signification of a poster. The next step of analysismust be to identifythe plot or chosen visualconceptthat is equivalent to the meaningnucleusof a given In the image. decoding meaningof the Macbeth posterin graphic termsof ideas conveyedor suggested,feelingsexpressedand constatementcould read"KingMacbeth,a hunoted, a summarizing manbeast"(see Fig. 3). This graphically encodedstatement should
59

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be seen as the designer's chosen visual concept that was skillfully and clearly encoded. It should be pointed out that the identified visual concept is not only the result of a literal reading of the perceptible units (crown, face, fangs), but also the result of denotative and connotative reading which, in turn, is influenced by a familiarity with this particular play and by a certain visual literacy. The remaining question concerns the designer's method of arriving at such a concept. The text of the play itself contains a large stock of suitable material for conceptualization, such as references to certain locations and events, key objects and scenes, main characters, cause-effect relations, and so forth. However, in the text

a "Design for poster theplay Macbeth"

Text Substance: characteristics and associations Content Expression Form: Macbeth Play Form: discourse Graphic Substance: means and Graphic associations
k

II

Fig. 4)

Fig. 3)

__1^H/ _ (c ' ) q _l

$cff fj_

of the play, there is no direct reference to King Macbeth as a human beast. But there are enough indications to constitute an image of Macbeth as a despot. In the example, the designer went one step further in reaching a solution that clearly mirrors the dialectic of comprehensibility and attractiveness to stimulate interest and to represent a high degree of information, the full extent of which can only be discerned by the attentive reader. Referring back to the process that led to the concept, the initial interpretation of Macbeth as a despot has been replaced and dramatized by a visual concept that displays King Macbeth as a human beast. relation of the form of expression to the form of content is ^The regulated by specific figures of speech. To reveal the rhetorical figure that governs the concept formation, it is necessary to look at the relationship "title of play = Macbeth" and the concept "King Macbeth, a human beast." In this particularposter, the relation follows a metaphorical structure. A metaphor is defined as an implied comparison between two things of unlike nature, which in this case is Macbeth being implicitly compared to a beast. Fig. 4 indicates that the signification process in visual design involves two major operations: formation of the visual concept, as well as its graphic encoding. Although in the former, the central problem of design involves finding an idea that expresses the play in some respect or capacity, the concern of the latter is in the visual

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translation of this concept. Both operations are equally important. Although graphic encoding is beyond this study, it is likewise governed by rhetorical figures. This point can be illustrated by looking at the visual treatment of the poster previously discussed. To express the concept of the human beast graphically, the designer omitted certain features of a human face and replaced them with features of a particular predatory animal. This graphic manipulation, the departure from a common face-human or animal- adds considerably to the graphic interpretation of beastness. The underlying rhetorical figure at work here is called oxymoron, defined as the yoking of two terms that are ordinarily contradictory. Transferred to this example, it is the yoking of the facial features of a human being with those of an animal. By combining contradictory elements, the designer produced a startling effect, especially as the figure is used in such an obviously fresh and apt way. Finally, in addition to a clear expression of the concept, the designer's command of different media and techniques of visual treatment also allows for modification of the degree of human beastness, which is similar to the use of adjectives to modify nouns or adverbs to modify verbs in a sentence.

12) KennethBurke, Counter-Statement (Los Altos, CA: Hermes Publications,1953),143.

Visual duplicationof rhetoricalfigures Froma designviewpoint,rhetorichas classifiednumerous patterns of signification.However, rhetoricdoes not say metonymyexists when a kingis represented a kind by a crown. Instead,it formulates of equationby saying that metonymyis a substitution for one another of terms suggesting an actual relationshipthat can be of nature. causal,spatial,or chronological A commoncriticismthat ariseswhen dealingwith rhetorical figuresis thatdiscoursemanifests itselfas concrete,particular, andindividual,whereasthese terms are abstract,general,and universal. How then can they be useful for the study of design? Their usefulness,accordingto K. Burke,residesin the fact that they can be re-individuated into differentsubjectmatter,thatis, a particular can be filled out with a completely different subject. As figure Burkeexplainsit: "A metaphor is a concept, an abstraction, but a specific metaphor, exemplified by specific images, is an individuation.Its appealas form residesin the fact that its particular subjectmatterenablesthe mindto follow a metaphor-process."12 Thus, from a pragmaticviewpoint, rhetoricalfigures manifest in vividly concreteways, for example,Macbethas a huthemselves manbeast.Froma logicalviewpoint,however,they represent only differentabstract thatcanbe revitalterms,for example,a metaphor ized in numerous ways. Rhetorical figuresshouldbe viewedas construction in theirsearchfor visual thatcanassistdesigners principles concepts. To conductthe case study, second-yeargraphicdesignstudents at the Nova ScotiaCollege of Art and Design were introducedto 61

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rhetoricalmethodology. They were encouragedto adopt and test rhetoricalfigures in conjunctionwith the designingof a Macbeth that this poster for the local theatercompany. It was anticipated would help to shed more light on the processof concept approach formation, sparking a greater diversity of interpretations, and, therefore,a greaterrangeof originalposter designs.They readthe play, viewed the movie Macbethdirectedby RomanPolanski,and formedstudy groups aroundten listed rhetorical figures.With the constructionprincipleof a specificrhetoricalfigureas a guideline, eachgrouplooked for potentialthemesthatfit the termandhadvisual potential.Finally, a themewas selectedand visuallyexecuted; the results then were compared.The feedbackfrom the students was enthusiastic; severalmentionedthat, for the firsttime, they felt as if they had produced something that deserved to be labeled The posters show the visualduplicationof one specific "creative." rhetorical figure together with the concept statement(see Figs. 5-14). Rhetorical specificrecipes. figuresdo not by any meansrepresent are They exploration tools that can spur lateralthinking, giving designersthe awarenessof possibilities to make the best choice. However, the creativeprocess will not become mechanized,because each concrete task requires a different solution. The real problem continues to be that of bringing together the abstract constructionprincipleswith original ideas within the confines of a specific task. Concerningdesign curricula,it would be worthwhile to considerconsciouslyonce againthe surprising adaptability of rhetoric,especiallyin light of the new rhetoricmovementand in the contextof contemporary society, for this society is informedby visual discourse through a wide variety of media to a degree with any other time. incomparable

Fig.5) Antithesis: the loyal of Macbeth, Juxtaposition with Macbeth, the vitciously general, evilking (oseph McDonald).
Fib. 6) Irony:

Theamiable couple,Her Highness andHis HighnessKing LadyMacbeth Macbeth (Marilyn Dyke).

itui MACBETH .;%. 1 .e;! ,: E> -.. %,.:. =, .i .Nq,t,*ina

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.....

Fig. 7) Metaphor: Comparison between events in the play Macbeth and contemporary events of a similar nature portrayed as we would learn of them today, for example, in a newspaper (Nat Connacher). Fig. 8) Personification: Human qualities are assigned to animate and inanimate objects bearing historical significance, bleeding armour (Ian Mason).

wi.ED... .

h,.; .....

ll,~il -: :L:l ,r?ll.l ?

)ENr

Tli

MACBETH
LIVES.
O f worexplode elon9 Ni*rtague-l Oin north border

D...

..

? nK 1 m55 0.
Fig. 9) Metonymy: The crown and the blood suggest an actual relationship with the tragic theme of the play (Julien LeBlanc). Fig. 10) Synecdoche: Substitution of a part for the whole, a portrayal of Macbeth's sinister character through concentration on the eyes (Cynthia Henry).

_~

_R_a

Fig. 11) Periphrases: Macbeth's fatal strategy to attain power and crown is indirectly referred to by a "baited trap" (Siuw Ying Soo). Fig. 12) Pun: A play on the three witches, who spur Macbeth's ambition to attain the crown, and the crown itself (Steve Durning).

Fig. 13) Amplification: Selection of key elements of the play to enhance its nature (Dave Roe). Fig. 14) Hyperbole: Exaggerationof the crown, which turns out to be an unbearable burden for Macbeth (ohn Murphy).

I e.

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