Several members of the class have said that Pericles' introduction rubbed them the wrong way, what with his straightforward “I do not agree”. To start off a epideictic (though possible some deliberative aspects...thoughts?) oratory by blatantly disregarding tradition is a bold move, and that remark taken alone would certainly be an irritant to me. However, that tiny prick of irritation I originally felt was quickly soothed by Pericles' explanatory statements.
I’m going to be frank here: nobody likes to be talked down
to. Nobody likes others to pretend to understand something they don’t. I doubt that the suffering widows and fatherless children standing in the crowd wanted their losses to be generalized into nonexistence through this oratory tradition. Pericles is quite clear that he doesn't wish to minimize the sacrifices that were made or do an injustice to others by putting imperfect men on a pedestal. He explains the inherent struggle that comes with writing such a speech, yet he accepts his duty for the sake of tradition. There's a certain comfort in that realism.
In Isaac Fox’s post, he states that “His [Pericles’] style
is simply flattery”. While Pericles absolutely weaves thick strands of flattery
throughout his speech, I would argue that his stylistic approach was more than
that. I believe that it served to separate the Athenians from the rest of the world, as well as being a call to action.
Patriotism is a unifying force. It utilizes both ethical and
pathetic appeals—a double threat when it comes to powerful rhetoric. Spencer
Muir discusses this patriotism in his post from 2014. To quote him directly, “The
pride of Athens and of their country was something that built common ground
between Pericles and his audience.” Personally, I’m much more willing to listen
to someone that I can relate to. By grouping the Athenians together and
injecting vast quantities of patriotism into his oratory, Pericles puts himself
on the same level as his audience, and that increases his own ethos.
Patriotism, by its very nature, is emotionally inspiring. In an already
high-emotion situation, this pathos would be extraordinarily effective as a
call to action. And a call to action is certainly given--Pericles essentially gives a list of what different citizens can now do to cope with this tragedy. This effectively gives society a more productive outlet for their emotions than destructive anger.
Interesting post Katelyn. I agree with your point that nobody likes to be talked down to or to have others pretend they understand something and don't. I think Pericles got that. Something I thought was interesting was when he states that he's not going to tell the people what they already know (lines 19-20, pg.73.) Do you think he did that to avoid making the people feel belittled or misunderstood?
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