Rhetoric and stylistics deal with successful human communication and the arrangement of language in texts. As the most influential of all language-related disciplines, rhetoric has an ancient tradition and is presently experiencing a remarkable revival. Stylistics analyzes the structures of texts with regard to their semantic potential and their function in the life of the individual and in society. The handbook offers surveys of theoretical approaches, forms of linguistic practice and practical contexts from antiquity to the present.

On the occasion of his 65th birthday, one of the most prominent German rhetoricians, literary critics and publicists, Gert Ueding, was honoured with a festschrift by the School of Rhetoric at the University of TA1/4bingen. In their contributions, his friends, companions and colleagues reflect the wide range of Gerd Uedinga (TM)s interests, which encompass classical philosophy and rhetoric as much as popular authors such as Karl May and Wilhelm Busch, philosophers such as Aristotle, Bloch and Hegel, together with contemporary modern literature.