Post #8: Imitatio Response

Bushra Zaman

English 360 Section 1

Imitatio Response Rough Draft

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The process of writing my Imitatio was one that has most definitely influenced my rhetorical experience. When reading Gorgias, I had been pulled in by his use of ethos. The Encomium of Helen is an epideictic speech, and in it Gorgias uses the argument of humanity to rally for Helen, appealing to the audience’s emotions. In trying to find a classical rhetorician to imitate, I had come to a cross roads. None had pulled me in to their readings until I had come upon Gorgias’ work. However, once that path was crossed, the rest of the process was quite a bit smoother.

When searching for an ancient rhetor, I had decided upon Gorgias and his Encomium of Helen. None of the other rhetors had quite drawn me in the same way as Gorgias and his stance on Helen’s innocence. Although Gorgias had drawn upon ethos, it was his way with logic that really persuades the audience. It is due to this combination that Gorgias develops a strong relationship with the audience. I have always had a great interest for anything that revolved around the world of ancient Greece, especially the wars. However, I had never really put such a vast thought into Helen and the allegations towards her. Her portrayal in mediums such as movies and television shows a much skewed version of her true character.

Yet, what I enjoyed so much about Gorgias’ Encomium was the vast number of ways in which he went about defending her innocence: due to the gods, physical force, love, or speech. Since the Encomium is classified as an epidictic speech, one of the three species’ spoken of in Aristotle’s rhetoric, it is used to give praise or blame. Gorgias is seen, in a sense, as doing both. Initially, he chooses to praise Helen for her immense beauty, and for the efforts that she has taken in gathering knowledgeable men so that they may hold council for the purpose of rhetoric. Gorgias also aims to blame and also to blame the men who were not only responsible for starting the Trojan War, but also responsible for anointing Helen as a scapegoat, because of her beauty. This practice of epideictic speech, and the rhetoric that which Gorgias uses, can also be seen today in the cases of law, through trials. When a jury is trying to decide the fate of the perpetrator, they often either praise or blame the defendant or the plaintiff. In the cases of the defendant and the plaintiff, the lawyers representing both parties are often seen praising or blaming the other side.

Gorgias was referred to as the father of all Sophists. His works were said to be used as teaching modes of rhetoric; he had wished that students memorize and take from his work as much as possible. In essence through his works, Gorgias truly believed that any side or point could be argumented for, no matter how irrational. He saw this skill as the epitome of a great rhetorician. Gorgias had a habit of attuning his style to his voice and the plethora of speech he chose to use. It was this said style and voice that caused his audience to listen. Due to this, I had no actual trouble reading the Encomium of Helen. My troubles, however, lied in the actual assignment at hand.

The one challenge that I faced in the process of writing my imitatio was actually understanding the assignment as a whole. I had to really focus in on the language of the assignment posted on the blog to fully understand it. When I initially read the assignment, I had thought that our purpose was to merely do an imitation of the original, and not simulate it around an actual current real world example. Instead, when presenting my speech, did a close reading of the Encomium of Helen and presented that in class. I now better understand the assignment after hearing my peers’ speeches and since this is the editing process, am able to revise my original work in order to fit the expectations of the assignment itself.