Third Persona

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The third persona is a rhetorical idea first conceptualized by Philip Wander in his article "The Third Persona: An Ideological Turn in Rhetorical Theory", first published in the Central States Speech Journal in 1984.

Basically, the third persona is the audience which is not present, or is excluded in the rhetoric. This conception of the third persona goes with the first persona (the speaker of the rhetoric and their intent) and the second persona (the implied audience).

[edit] Sources

• Wander, Philip; "The Third Persona: An Ideological Turn in Rhetorical Theory,” Central States Speech Journal 35 (1984) 209.