Rant

A rant or harangue is a speech or text that does not present a well-researched and calm argument; rather, it is typically an attack on an idea, a person or an institution, and very often lacks proven claims. Such attacks are usually personal attacks. Compare with a dialectic.

In some cases, rants can be based on partial fact, or may be entirely factual but written in a comedic/satirical form, a well known example being television's The Daily Show.

Rants can also be used in the defense of an individual, idea or organization. Rants of this type generally occur after the subject has been attacked by another individual or group.

Rants in social settings

Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park is a famous public space in which rants are legitimately allowed..

Rants have been prohibited and still are in places where freedom of Speech or political protest is discouraged or outlawed.

Rants are discouraged or prohibited in some scientific and decision-making groups. The prohibition of rants has a long history in Europe.

Rants are used often in situations requiring monologue. Comedians, such as Lewis Black or Rick Mercer, use rants as a way to get their message or punch-line across to the listening audience. A good example of a public speaker who add rants in his act is Dennis Miller, a political satirist and comedian.

Rants are commonplace on the internet. Many people may have different opinions on certain matters online than they do offline, mainly because of the anonymity. Several websites allow people to rant freely online.

Rants on YouTube

Rants on YouTube have recently become popular. The ranting video usually features the ranter, who usually appears in the video, ranting about various topics, including racism, the media, politics, fandoms, and recently, WMG for muting certain YouTube videos. These rants often contain excessive profanity, and are usually seen as spam, or trolling, instead of a legitimate rant. Ranting videos are usually never removed, unless seen offensive by a certain group.

Historical context of a rant

In D. Watt's pulp novel "Swoosh", a crewman aboard the privateer ship Great White Hope uses emotive language to question Cap'n Inamonly's plan for a raid. The insulted and angry Cap'n returns forcefully with a personal attack on the crewman's manliness, henceforth known as The Cap'n's Rant:

"Do we have a sashaying pirate on board, a fanciful folly of a fiend? Do ye keelhaul scurvy dogs or do ye serenade them from the crow’s nest? Do ye shake ye cutlass and howl at the moon or do ye shake ye head and faint oh so sweetly at the sight of unkempt hairy men?"

Translation of "Rant"

German: Diatribe, Spanish: Diatriba, Extremaduran: Diatriba, Finnish: Diatribe, French: Diatribe, Italian: Diatriba, Norwegian (Bokmål): Diatribe, Polish: Diatryba, Swedish: Diatrib.