Rhetorical criticism analyzes the symbolic artifacts of discourse—the words, phrases, images, gestures, performances, texts, films, etc.
Rhetorical criticism studies and analyzes the purpose of the words, sights, and sounds that are the symbolic artifacts used for communications among people.
[1] The arts of Rhetorical criticism are an intellectual practice that dates from the time of Plato, in Classical Greece (5th–4th c. BC).
[4] For example, the evaluative standard that the rhetorician utilizes will undoubtedly be gleaned from other works of rhetoric and, thus, impose a certain category.
Classical genres of rhetoric include apologia, epideictic, or jeremiad but have been expanded to encompass numerous other categories.
[1] Closely related with analysis, interpretation widens the scope of the examination to include the historical and cultural context of the artifact.
Political purposes involve revealing hegemonic power structures in order to expose oppressive discourses or give voice to marginalized groups.