There is so much persuasion or rhetoric found within these 22 pages of literature. I do not plan to address all nor nearly all in this blog; only a couple of those I find very significant.
Homer himself uses so much rhetoric in his narration as to influence the way in which we, the readers, interpret the agendas, perspective, and character of the story. Examples of this are found throughout the whole chapter. One such example of this can be found within the second page of reading (18). Homer states that Agamemnon began to think of things (being victorious and obtaining Troy) "that were surely not to be accomplished." Although the statement results to be true, this rhetoric influences the way in which Agamemnon is perceived by the reader.
Another example of this can be found on Katie Johnson's blog. I had thought in a similar light and feel it important to note that the narrator has so much influence over what the reader experiences and the bias that he/she forms. I will not go into detail about it all because she has posted about it already. It has some very good insight and speaks of how Homer uses rhetoric to influence how the reader perceives Thersites, who has a "glib tongue, a shrill squeaky voice, and and being the ugliest man in the army." More detail can be found in the third paragraph of Katie's blog. Check it out!
My other point is that which I spoke about in Katie's Blog. Agamemnon fails to rally his troops to attack Troy. That being said, the final result of the interaction (Ulysses' play on logos and usage of other rhetoric included) is the preparation for war by the troops. Some may say that Agamemnon failed altogether but is it possible that a larger plan and deeper scheme of wordplay and rhetoric was at hand?
Is it possible that Agamemnon and Ulysses had planned prior to their speeches of what roles and what types of rhetoric they would use to persuade their troops to fight once again? After all, It is said that the troops "knew not the cunning council of Agamemnon." Is that "cunning council" referring to a play on Logos and Pathos that Agamemnon and Ulysses had prepared ahead of time to persuade the troops to attack?
I'd love to hear your thoughts!
I find it very interesting that you used Homer as an example for rhetoric and the tools he used to narrate the story. I had not given him much thought, but after reading your post I found that the way he described a certain character made me think of the character in the way that he, as the author, wanted me to. I never would have thought about that unless someone pointed it out to me. Great observation!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post, I completely agree that Agamemnon had a deeper plan than that of getting his men home. Did he want to shame his men because of their happiness to return home? Perhaps, but I find it much more likely that Agamemnon was still allowing the men a choice. However, the choice was well guided. Agamemnon knew the bravery of his men and knew that someone would rise to fight. In this case it was Odysseus, but it could have been another brave soldier. Agamemnon was therefore showing himself as the good guy and implementing ethos so that his men would not turn against him. However, if all the soldiers wanted to go home, I believe Agamemnon would not have fought it.
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