Epideictic

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Epideictic rhetoric, or ceremonial rhetoric, is one of the three branches, or "species" (eidē), of rhetoric as outlined in Classical rhetoric. This is rhetoric of ceremony, declamation, and demonstration, most often the rhetoric of funerals and other formal events. In his book Rhetoric and Poetics in Antiquity, Jeffrey Walker claims that epideictic rhetoric predates the rhetoric of courts and politics, the study of which began in the fourth or fifth century BCE with the Sophists. The other two kinds of public speech were deliberative or political speech, and forensic or legal speech.

According to Aristotle’s conception of epideixis (genera epideiktikon), “the present is the most important; for all speakers praise or blame in regard to existing qualities, but they often make use of other things, both reminding [the audience] of the past and projecting the course of the future” (1358b). Epideixis is Aristotle’s least clearly-defined special topic. Considered to be the stuff of ceremonies with its exhortations, panegyrics, and displays of oratorical prowess, epideictic rhetoric appears to be discourse less about depth and more attuned to style without substance.

For centuries, epideictic oratory was a contested term, for it is clearly present in both forensic and deliberative forms, but it is difficult to clarify when it appears as a dominant discursive form. According to Chaim Perelmen and Lucy Olbrechts-Tyteca, “The speaker engaged in epideictic discourse is very close to being an educator. Since what he is going to say does not arouse controversy, since no immediate practical interest is ever involved, and there is no question of attacking or defending, but simply of promoting values that are shared in the community . . .” (52). Some of the defining terms for epideictic discourse include declamation, demonstration, praise or blame of the personal, and pleasing or inspiring an audience.

Lawrence W. Rosenfield contends that epideictic practice surpasses mere praise and blame, and it is more than a showy display of rhetorical skill: “Epideictic’s understanding calls upon us to join with our community in giving thought to what we witness, and such thoughtful beholding in commemoration constitutes memorializing” (133). Epideictic rhetoric also calls for witnessing events, acknowledging temporality and contingency (140). However, as Rosenfield suspects, it is an uncommon form of discourse because of the rarity of “its necessary constituents—openness of mind, felt reverence for reality, enthusiasm for life, the ability to congeal significant experiences in memorable language . . .” (150).