Grief Consolation in Eulogy Rhetoric: Anintegrative Framework

Abstract

Abstract:In an ever more deadly and uncertain world, rhetoric honoring the deceased is still examined as though that was its primary, if not only, function. Some critics of eulogia also identify the consolation of survivors but rarely define it precisely or analyze its rhetorical execution. This article introduces a framework for the critical analysis and production of eulogia that draws from comforting mechanisms recognized in the interpersonal communication, social psychology, and grief therapy literatures. Self-disclosure, problem-focused coping, positive reappraisal, and the affirmation and continuation of relationships with the deceased are shown to inform criticism of five contemporary eulogies. Challenges inherent in the invention and appreciation of eulogy rhetoric are thus illuminated and addressed.

The Grief Account: Dimensions of a Contemporary Bereavement Genre

“…97-110) for her discussion of ''fragments of myth'' such as ''one's own death,'' ''manly death,'' and ''transcendent death''). Just as the perspectives of Frank, Hawkins, Bregman and Thiermann (1995), and Simonds and Rothman (1992) coalesce with the current analysis, many consolatory elements of eulogies (Kunkel & Dennis, 2003) are evident at work within the identified dimensions (e.g., positive reappraisal within the evaluative dimension; emotional disclosure within the affective dimension) as well.…”

“…Society, armed with advances in media and communication technology, has become ever more self-focused even since the ''me'' movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Contemporary eulogies (Kunkel & Dennis, 2003) and elegies ''frequently recount in detail the private as well as public histories of the lives of the dead'' (Gilbert, 2006, p. 412). Even collective symbolic memorials such as the AIDS quilt and the improvisational shrines that arose in Oklahoma City and New York after terrorist slaughters of innocents have included photographs and personal effects, thus assuming the form of ''particularized testimonials, ways of bearing witness to individual lives'' (Gilbert,p.…”

“…Reappraisal has been found to occur often within the discourse of contemporary eulogists, who speak of the afterlife of the deceased and appreciate time spent with, and lessons learned, from them (Kunkel & Dennis, 2003). Similarly, analyses of illness narratives (Frank, 1995) and pathography (Hawkins, 1999) have indicated the prominence and usefulness of valuing struggles as journeys or quests.…”

“…According to Kunkel and Dennis (2003), eulogists often offer suggestions so that mourners may actually accomplish acts that address or ameliorate their grief. Grief accounts also feature portrayals of activity, suggested or performed, that are aimed at solving, lessening, or managing the difficulties of grief so that it is easier to live with.…”

“…Upon finding the extant rhetorical scholarship addressing eulogies bereft of instruction for attaining the multiple goals of eulogists (i.e., comforting audiences, consoling themselves, and memorializing the deceased through stories and honors), Kunkel and Dennis (2003) combined constructs from psychology and communication literatures regarding distress appraisal (Lazarus, 1991), coping (Pennebaker, 1997), and grief management (Attig, 1996;Neimeyer, 2001) to provide a position from which to interpret the consolatory efforts of contemporary eulogists. The sampled eulogies often featured praise for the deceased, positive reappraisal (i.e., changing or reframing perspective and meaning) of the loss, prescriptions for coping in the form of suggested actions, emotional self-disclosure, and both affirmation and continuation of bonds with the deceased.…”