rhetorical criticism Archives

Cover image of "Visual Rhetoric and Visual Persuasion" edited by Meghan Henning and Nils Neumann

Vivid Rhetoric and Visual Persuasion, Meghan Henning and Nils Neumann, editors. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802883575) 2024.

Summary: Fourteen scholars on vivid, ekphrastic language in early Christian literature, used to engage and persuade.

I learned a new word as I read this book: ekphrasis. It literally means “tell out” and carries the idea of vivid description. Ekphrastic rhetoric is designed to move a passive audience to a kind of immersed engagement in a story, in which they literally “see it before their eyes,” and sometimes engage other senses as well. Furthermore, these rhetorical devices are often used not only to engage but to persuade the engaged reader toward (or away) from some action. Ekphrastic rhetoric is hardly unique to biblical and early Christian literature. Indeed, one of the strengths of this volume is that a number scholars compare the use of these devices by early Christian writers with their cultural contemporaries.

Vivid Rhetoric and Visual Persuasion brings together fourteen scholars who contribute chapters on the use of vivid rhetoric in the New Testament and other early Christian literature. After an introductory essay that surveys the use of rhetorical analysis in biblical interpretation:

Nils Neumann analyzes Matt. 14-22-33. This is the story of Jesus walking on water and Neumann compares the story with rhetorical handbooks of the day.
Meghan Henning considers the eschatological judgment and hell in Matthew 25, including “the sheep and the goats.”
Gudrun Nassauer contends that the writer of Luke-Acts presents women in a way that portrays discipleship in relationship with Jesus.
A comparison of vivid and non-vivid language in John’s Prologue is the focus for Vernon Robbins study. He sees this as a way to create “cognitive space.”
Sunny Wang studies vivid description in John’s account of the raising of Lazarus, contending John engages four senses and three “body zones.”
Dramatic reversals may be portrayed through ekphrasis, as Bart Bruehler contends in his study of Luke-Acts.
Annette Weissenreider and Martina Kepper draw upon both archaeological and textual evidence as the consider the “dividing wall” rhetoric in Acts and Ephesians.
Gary Selby also studies visual imagery in Ephesians, focusing on the phrase “enlighten the eyes of your heart.”
Revelation 19 includes vivid imagery of hell. Robyn Whitaker analyzes the persuasion of Christians to resist Rome and remain faithful to Christ.
Susanne Luther also looks at Revelation and the imagery of the heavenly city in narrative, spatial, and aesthetic aspects and their ethical import.
The latter chapters focus on early Christian content. Both Harry Maier and Aldo Tagliabue look at martyrdom literature. Diana Feuchtman looks at the cinematic features of the miraculous on Paulinus of Nola’s Natalicium.

One of the beneficial elements of this book for students of the scriptures is the identification of different rhetorical devices. Nassauer’s “Images of Women” chapter, for example, includes nine different devices, with examples of passages for each. The literary art of scripture, and our awareness of how writers make meaning and move readers through various devices can enrich our reading and our personal and corporate response to scripture. While the title to this collection may seem daunting, the material here is a goldmine for any interpreter of scripture.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

The Rhetoric of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, David M. Young and Michael Strickland. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2017.

Summary: A study of the four major discourses in the Gospel of Mark analyzing them in the context of first century Greco-Roman rhetoric.

When form criticism was used in biblical studies, the biblical text was divided into the textual fragments that represented to the critics the fundamental units out of which the text was built from various sources. With the advent of rhetorical criticism, the concern is less with identifying discrete textual units than considering the work of the writer or narrator in the text as we have it.

In this work the writers apply the study of rhetoric to the four major discourses in the Gospel of Mark (Mark 3:22–30, 4:1–34, 6:53–7:23, 11:27–13:37). The writers assert that the teaching of rhetoric, or at least familiarity with examples of well-crafted rhetoric was widespread in the world of both Jesus and Mark, and their hearers or readers would recognize rhetorical strategies and appreciate them. This work utilizes a methodology developed by George Kennedy that begins with establishing the rhetorical unit and situation, then engages in detailed, line by line, study of the text, noting rhetorical elements and devices such as parable and chiasmus, and then overviews the rhetoric of the discourse, whether it succeeds, and the implications for speaker and audience.

The writers then employ this methodology with the four discourses, as indicated above. Space precludes a summary of the analyses of each passage, but the writers reached several salient conclusions. One is that at both the primary level of Jesus the speaker, and the secondary level of the narrative, these discourses are well-crafted rhetoric, that are effective as persuasive works. In particular, each establishes the authority of Jesus against the challenges of the teachers of the law. The writers particularly note the terse, economical character of Jesus’ speech and his effective use of parables, enthymemes, and other rhetorical devices his listeners would readily have recognized. Finally, they note the consistent pattern of movement from public discourse to private explanation with the disciples.

The work includes a glossary of terms in the end matter, and the reader not well-versed in rhetorical studies would do well to bookmark this as they study the text. The writers also offer an appendix on a brief history of Greco-Roman rhetoric. Some readers without this background might find reading this first to be helpful. Familiarity with Greek is helpful, and the analyses do go into fine detail on rhetorical structures in the text. The reward for this rigorous work is an appreciation of the rhetoric of Jesus and the rhetorical art in Mark. We see in finer detail how each element in these discourses persuade us of the authority of Jesus. This work is helpful both for the teacher of this material, and other scholars of Mark studying the discourses.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Edelweiss. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.