Consolatory Rhetoric

Download or read book Consolatory Rhetoric written by Donovan J. Ochs and published by Univ of South Carolina Press. This book was released on 1993 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Consolatory Rhetoric explores Greco-Roman funeral rituals to reveal how opposing symbols functioned rhetorically to comfort communities afflicted by the death of one of their members. While the bulk of rhetorical criticism interprets written texts, Donovan Ochs broadens the traditional focus to consider non-verbal symbols as well as action and object languages. Ochs demonstrates that non-discursive dimensions of Greco-Roman burial rites held a place of particular persuasive significance in consoling the populace and he attributes funeral customs practiced in contemporary western civilization to the legacy left by the ancient Greeks and Romans.