I agree with what Hailee
said in her post about Pericles’ funeral oration being deliberative in
nature. I want to add to that by showing how his
advisory speech flows with the use topics of invention. Specifically, I want to show the use of division.
Just as
Aristotle breaks down happiness into its parts, Pericles’ oration emphasizes
the parts that make up civilization. He
attributes their success and greatness to “the spirit in which [they] faced [their]
trials and also [their] constitution and the way of life which has made [them]
great.” He emphasizes their courage in
battle, freedom and equality due to democracy, and recreation as an escape valve
for the pressures of life.
Amazingly,
Pericles puts an interesting twist on his description of Athens. He proudly declares that “each single one of
our citizens… is able to show himself the rightful lord and owner of his own
person.” He goes on to accredit the
power of their city to the individual. This
use of division of the whole into parts is very powerful and persuasive.
I'm always amazed, when reading these blogs, the way different student's minds go in different directions. I didn't pick up on the division at all, but it's obviously a big part of that! Maybe I just can't see the deeper meaning...? Nice job picking up on that.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting, isn't it, that Pericles divides on two levels. First, he splits up the parts of a civilization, but those parts still involve or belong everybody. Then, on a second and even more particular level, he separates human from human and does so to praise the individual. I think that by so doing, he boosts the self-worth of each and every person and at the same time maintains a sense of national pride and togetherness.
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