"Theorizing Eloquence as a Means-Driven Process of Recursive Invention" examines the rhetorical nature of eloquence and the value of reimagining the term in rhetorical theory. Historically, eloquence has been used as a mechanism of gatekeeping in the academy that prevents underrepresented individuals and perspectives to enter. I argue that a process-based understanding of eloquence disrupts such gatekeeping and contains the potential to stimulate what I term recursive invention, or invention at the center of writing processes that is constantly undergoing revision and simultaneously sparking emergent expressions of new invention as its ultimate aim. In recognizing eloquence as a process with the goal of reaching recursive invention, my project critically addresses and dismantles the problematic, oppressive barriers raised by previous definitions of eloquence that limit and restrict which voices can be deemed "eloquent" to those that possess privileged access to standard English. Moreover, I offer a theory of eloquence that reorients the term from its traditional definitions, which reward this privileged access to and participation in standardized "aesthetic" language practices, in favor of a new definition that conceptualizes eloquent practice as a recursive process of invention that incorporates multimodal composing practices and nonstandard Englishes while empowering individuals to experiment with standard composition practices and genre conventions. In Chapter 1, I overview a brief history of eloquence and present the purpose of my theory of reimagined eloquence as a way of recognizing, empowering, and incorporating diverse voices, perspectives, and approaches in rhetoric and composition. Chapter 2 theorizes eloquence as a process, exploring how a processual eloquence functions in light of invention. Chapter 3 applies my theory of eloquence to the medium of protest TikToks that aim toward fundamental social change, while Chapter 4 considers the relationship across processual eloquence and multimodality as informed by multimodal and translingual theories of composition. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]