Saturday, September 6, 2014

Eyes on the prize boys, eyes on the prize.

Reading the Iliad has impressed me with its insight to the human psyche. The entirety of book II is written with one major plot device involved: the rallying of the Greek army for a final spur against the Trojans.

With the army as our audience, we see four people (well, really just two) who use rhetoric to move their plans into action.

Jove uses Agamemnon to control the army, telling him in a dream through his most trusted councilor Nestus that the hour is at hand. Jove knew that Agamemnon would trust no other speaker in his vision and seemed confident that it would work. The king however, still recognizes the hand of Jove despite the excellent use of decorum and instead twists his speech in order to dissuade the army. Agamemnon then uses kairos, reminding his army of the nine long years that they have suffered laying siege to the gates of Troy and Priam. The mere mention of their wives and children instigates a wave of homesickness among his audience and -perfect to the king's plan- they begin to prepare for the journey home. 

Meanwhile, Minerva is sent by Juno in a desperate attempt to summon the army to battle. Minerva chooses to act both on her own and through Odysseus. The two set forth and work on every man. Odysseus is especially powerful in his use of decorum, speaking calmly and wisely to the kings and chieftains, while shouting brashly at the common soldiers, knowing perfectly how to persuade each and every one to his side. Minerva works more subtly, instilling courage into the warriors until they take heart at Odyssesus' words. Even king Agamemnon agrees with the hero.

In the end, the army is called valiantly to arms. It takes nine whole pages just to name the entire host! This only further proves the effect that Odysseus had on his audience. 

2 comments:

  1. I like the focus this blog post had on the importance of knowing one's audience and how best to inspire/ persuade one's listeners. In the Iliad, Odysseus seemed almost bipolar with his formal, calm demeanor with the kings and then yelling, crazy guy persona with the soldiers. It then came to my attention that we, perhaps more subtly, do the same thing today. How I interact with and try to persuade a potential employer in an interview is different than how I would try to persuade my friends to go to a movie I want to see. This is just an informal example today of how we strive to know our audience and then use that knowledge to adjust our method of persuasion.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was really interested in your observation about the use of kairos. To me, kairos is often an overlooked aspect of persuasive speaking. Its one thing to know what to say but its a whole different animal to be able to say not only the right thing but at the right time. I think people generally will figure out what the should say and just say it without waiting and analyzing the timing of whats being said. As you mentioned, Agamemnon does this masterfully while addressing his subjects, and so they go to war.

    ReplyDelete