Assignment: Analyzing the Encomium of Helen

There are a few purposes for this assignment (due Monday, 9/14/15). I want my students to

• understand the respect the ancient Greeks had for the power of speech and persuasion
• become familiar with three genres of speeches from antiquity
• begin practicing rhetorical analysis

Was Helen of Troy Persuaded, or Persuasive?

First, go to Silva Rhetoricae and read the sections about the Branches of Oratory (see the menu on the left side, and go through each of the three types listed there). Be ready for a quiz on these.

Next, you will read a short speech, the Encomium of Helen by Gorgias. Here is the background on that speech. Gorgias was one of the earliest sophists, those "logographers" and itinerant teachers who sold their services training people to compose speeches (or doing it for them). The sophists would often advertise their services by showing off their abilities in practice speeches. That is what this speech is. Obviously he isn't defending the real Helen, who lived 800 years before Gorgias. But everyone knew the story of Helen of Troy from the Iliad. Gorgias set himself the task of defending Helen as though she were his client in court. Wow! If you can convince people that the woman who started the Trojan war was innocent, wouldn't that be someone you'd want to hire to help you in your own legal cases? 


So, read this in part to understand the sophists and what they were up to. But also consider carefully the arguments, since Gorgias is explicitly talking about persuasion. To what does he compare the power of persuasive speech? 

Also take notes on this speech with respect to its rhetoric -- its form. Given what you know now from Silva Rhetoricae about content and form; about kairos, decorum, and audience; about the three persuasive appeals; and now, about the three branches of oratory -- what do you make of this speech? It is called an encomium. Which branch of oratory is that from? Does this fit? What other genre of oratory might one call this? 

Because the speech is translated from the original Greek, many of its stylistic structures and effects are lost in translation. So, take a look at this alternate translation of the same speech. In this second one, the translator has tried to honor the kinds of repetition and other figurative language from the original. What patterns do you see? What are the methods Gorgias uses in his speaking that make this effective?

I will call on students in class to give their rhetorical analyses, so be prepared. I will also ask you to be able to compare the two versions of the speech and say how the translations differ based on their form.

(This is just for preparation for class, not a blogging assignment yet)