The Paradox of Literary Emotion: An Ancient Greek Perspective and Some Modern Implications

Abstract

Fifth-century BCE Greek writers (e.g., Isocrates, Pseudo-Andocides) complain that the Athenians might have been more deeply moved by tragedies than by horrific contemporary events. My essay suggests that literary narratives could indeed produce this effect on us through several features. (1) The feeling of personal safety, threatened sometimes by our showing compassion to others (e.g. Euripides' plays, Thucydides; modern refugee debates) remains intact when we engage in fiction. (2) The proximity to literary characters becomes enhanced by literary narratives (pro ommaton, focalization), in contrast to impersonal journalistic reports. (3) The universality ascribed to a literary piece (Aristotle's Poetics) could contribute to our emotional immersion into the world of fiction to the detriment of the surrounding reality. While each section starts from ancient Greek authors, the essay will underline some similarities between the classical and the modern ways of engaging with literary narratives. Keywords: Emotional paradox; universality of literature; focalization; historical narrative; journalism versus literary narrative.Resumo: Escritores gregos do século V a.C. (por exemplo: Isócrates, PseudoAndocides) reclamam de os atenienses poderem ter sido mais afetados pelas tragédias do que pelos terríveis acontecimentos contemporâneos a eles. Meu ensaio sugere que narrativas literárias poderiam de fato produzir esse efeito em nós por meio de vários atributos. São eles: (1) Nosso sentimento de segurança pessoal, ameaçado algumas vezes quando mostramos compaixão pelos outros (por exemplo, nas peças de Eurípides, em Tucídides; nos debates atuais sobre refugiados), permanece intacto

Greek Ambassadors and the Rhetoric of Supplication. Some Notes

“…In general, see the essays collected in : Chaniotis 2011;Chaniotis 2012;Chaniotis, Ducrey 2013;Cairns, Fulkerson 2015;Cairns, Nelis 2017. On specific aspects see Tsingarida 2001;LaCurse Munteanu 2012;Harder, Stöppelkamp 2016;Chaniotis, Kaltsas, Mylonopoulos 2017. francesca gazzano topics-and many emotions (among others pity, fear, envy, anger, confidence, shame)2-have been explored with ground-breaking results, making possible a better understanding of their role in the political life and social relations of ancient Greece. At the opposite end of the chronological spectrum, also in International Relations studies new research trends have highlighted the deep impact of emotional dynamics in international politics;3 as for diplomatic negotiations, "emotional diplomacy" is now considered a form of strategic action, namely the official deployment for political ends of emotional displays at the international level.4 Within the same "emotional context", but at another level, face-to-face diplomacy is being recognized as of the utmost importance, because it enables practitioners to exchange individual expressions of intentions-and by extension, the intentions of the government they represent-that are otherwise lost, attenuated or distorted if communications were to occur through other impersonal and irregular channels.5…”

“…22)Taplin 1978, p. 117-124;Konstan 1999;LaCurse Munteanu 2012. (23) McDonald 2007 On Aeschylus' use of supplication in this tragedy, see especially Gödde 2000.…”