Conclusion: An Informal System of Education

This book project began with my curiosity about how educational theories are put into practice. The theory in question was Thomas Sheridan’s theory of elocution. Elocution, as treated by Sheridan, combined an obsession with correct pronunciation with lexicography, oral reading, rhetorical delivery, the cult of sensibility, and educational reform. It has received interdisciplinary attention from linguists, speech communication scholars, literary scholars, rhetorical theorists, cultural historians, and historians of education, among others. My own interest in the subject has focused on its relevance to rhetoric, education, and the origins of English literature as an academic discipline.