Poetry can tell stories

As I was reading book II, there was a phrase that really stuck out to me. It is on line 86 when Nestor had just finished his speech to the elders, and it goes as follows: "They swarmed like bees that sally from some hollow cave and flit in countless throng among the spring flowers bunched in knots and clusters;"

That is a very poetic form of decorum, which reminded me that stories can be told in poetry. The fact that they went into so much detail for each individual character, as Kekoa brought up, I think just goes to show the poetic nature of his writing.


I liked Minerva's persuasion was based on if you leave, those who died will have died in vain, as was brought up by Kevin. I think too many times as we devote our lives to certain things we feel an obligation to continue. That lays a perfect kairos if you are trying to convince someone to keep doing what they are doing, it's almost like an addiction. This story really depicts the art of 'guilt tripping' you could say, which it turned out for the better of course.

But just as Eli said, we tend to follow those same patterns today, which I completely agree with. The art of persuasion has been and is a very valuable skill to have.

The love of God in Christ Jesus

In perhaps one of my favorite testimonies written, the Apostle Paul states,

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Two topics of invention are readily noticeable in this passage, the first being the use of adjuncts, describing something by its characteristics. Since love is not an object and we cannot picture it or even physically see it, only the manifestation of it. 

Paul also incorporates the use of Degree by showing that God's love is more powerful and these, seemingly powerful obstacles are less.

Instead of simply saying that god really loves us, which I believe is the underlying message of this passage, Paul instead begins to put into perspective this love that God has for us through His Son. Greater than any height or any depth, more transcendent than time, stronger than angels or demons, more powerful than life and even death.  

God's love is ever present, ever constant and everlasting. It is available to everyone. Our perfect Father in Heaven loves us perfectly, despite our imperfections. 

Ya poem, ya know 'em

Poems can be useful in helping people remember things. Why else would teachers of all ages use poems in their classes [Witnesses]? Take the example "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally." This phrase is not an acronym [Contradictions], but an acrostic poem [Definition] that helps people remember the order of operations in math. I learned it years ago in school, and I still remember it [Past Fact/Future Fact]--so it's definitely possible for poems like that to help people remember other things as well [Possibility/Impossibility] [Similarity/Difference]. Indeed, if something as English-y as a poem can help with math, surely it can help with English too [Degree]! Robert Pinsky, a well-known writer in today's poetry circles, suggested just last Friday during a poetry reading at BYU that copying down poems can help improve your own writing [Authority]. Copying down poems can tune a reader in to colorful rhythm, sound, and language choices that may not have been easily seen before. Distinctive and vivid choices in these areas are inherent to, and thus readily seen in, poetry [Subject/Adjuncts]. By studying poems, then, people can remember these elements as they write and make their writing more interesting. Away from the world of academia, poems are still useful in helping people to remember. The leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for example, frequently use poems in their discourses to help people remember the messages they are trying to teach. The president of the Church, Thomas S. Monson, has used this poem before in conference to the entire church [Authority]. I may not remember all that he said during that talk (I don't), but I do remember his citation of that poem, so I know he was talking about being kind to others [Witness]. So go read a poem! Chances are, it will help you remember something worthwhile [Cause/Effect].

Irrationality = Rationality

In The Bakkhia, the rational Pentheus is destroyed
 by irrationality.

I am intrigued with Euripides’s use of the topic of invention, comparison.  The Bakkhia is chock-full of comparison and symbolism.  The most intriguing symbolism is that between men and women.  Women seem to represent chaos and irrationality, while men, specifically Pentheus, seem to represent order and rationality.  For example, the only revelers in Mount Kithairon are women.  The women are naked, suckle wolf cubs, and hunt with their bare hands.  That should not make sense to anyone, even in Greek times.  Furthermore they believe that Dionysus is a god.  By all reasonable thought, Dionysus should not exist.  However, irrationally, Dionysus was birthed again from Zeus’s thigh.  And when Dionysus showed up in Thebes, he was dressed with long hair like a women, furthering his irrationality.

Contrast that to Pentheus, who could be considered a symbol of Athens.  Athenians prided themselves on their rationality and logic.  Pentheus does not believe in the irrational.  He doesn’t think Dionysus exists.  He thinks that the irrational women should be put to death. Even though he leaves his manly rationality behind when he dresses as a woman, he does not accept it as a power.  His mother, Aguaë, a symbol for irrationality, destroys him.  His downfall, therefore, is not recognizing irrationality as a hugely powerful force that controls a bit of everyone’s life.

In writing this play, Euripides takes irrational thought and makes it tangible.  We can then deal 

Poetry allows me to express my irrational emotions
             in a rational way.

with it, and understand our erratic thoughts. If Pentheus represents Athens and Aguaë represents irrationality, Euripides is warning Athens to not become too rational because irrationality is a huge and powerful part of life.  I have always thought the best way to make something innately human and irrational into something tangible and rational is to personify it in the arts.  I think that is what Euripides is doing when he wrote The Bakkhia.  I, like Euripides have dealt with irrationality through writing.  I once got into a huge fight with my father.  After I stormed out of the house, I wrote this poem on my phone’s notepad.  It helped me be able to see my emotions in a tangible, understandable, and rational way while the poem itself is irrational.

Here it is:

Evaporation

Love-guilt spilled out of her mouth,

But he boiled it.  It turned to steam,

Unsure in its floating consistency

Until it became dry ash, undrinkable

Though it longed to be drunk.