Robert Burton's Rhetoric

Robert Burton's Rhetoric: An Anatomy of Early Modern Knowledge, Volume 1, examines the complex structure of The Anatomy of Melancholy. Susan Wells analyzes how Robert Burton integrated diverse fields such as theology, medicine, and philology to document early modern understanding of melancholy. This work of English literature history and criticism explores the intersection of knowledge and learning during the seventeenth century.

Wells uses a rhetorical lens to demonstrate how Burton organized information and employed persuasion. By treating the text as a meditation on knowledge, the author connects early modern scholarship to contemporary transdisciplinary practices. This study of rhetoric and learning provides a detailed account of disciplinary exchanges, making it a significant resource for those studying early modern English and the rhetorics of health and medicine.