Rivers as rhetorical tropes in Pliny the Younger’s Panegyric

Autores/as

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30973/esdi.2023.9.1.149

Palabras clave:

Plinio El Joven, Discurso epidíptico, retórica, Rios

Resumen

In Pliny the Younger’s Panegyric, delivered at the Roman Senate in 100 CE and later revised into its written version, rivers are employed as rhetorical tropes (metonymy, metaphor, personification, and hyperbole). In addition, the mention of a river can intertextually evoke the precedent representations of that river and points to political actions related to the regions and peoples connected to such river. Thus, all mentions of rivers in the Panegyric are replete with political and aesthetical motivations. In oratory, rivers also convey a metarhetorical reflection, such as the connotation of the orator’s declarations of style or techniques. Throughout the Panegyric, rivers are much more than mere courses of water – they bespeak eloquently about Trajan and politics and about Pliny and oratory.

Biografía del autor/a

Pedro Schmidt, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Research interests: Genres and intertextuality in Classical and Medieval Latin texts; Ecocritical analysis of Classical Literature.

Recent publications:

  • Schmidt, P. Ovídio: Tristezas. Araçoiaba da Serra: Mnema, 2023.
  • Schmidt, P. “Ovidianism and the end of elegy in Maximianus 5”. Acta Classica 65 (2022): 195-207.
  • Schmidt, P. “Dafne”. In: Compêndio Histórico de Mulheres da Antiguidade: a presença das mulheres na Literatura e na História. Goiânia: Tempestiva, 2021, v.1, 63-69.

Citas

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Schmidt, P. “Exagerando a verdade: a hipérbole em Quintiliano”. In: Albertim, A. & Soares, W. Escritos clássicos greco-latinos. João Pessoa: CCTA, 2020.

West, M. Indo-European Poetry and Myth. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Portada de artículo Pedro Schmidt

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Publicado

2023-07-19

Cómo citar

Schmidt, P. «Rivers As Rhetorical Tropes in Pliny the Younger’s Panegyric». Estudios Del Discurso, vol. 9, n.º 1, julio de 2023, pp. 24-39, doi:10.30973/esdi.2023.9.1.149.