Diatribe Genre

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Diatribe Genre
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• Robert C. Newman

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The Word "Diatribe"
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• Common Modern Usage
• A bitter, abusive criticism or denunciation
• Historical or Literary Definition
• A method or mode of teaching and exhortation used
  in the ancient schools of philosophy
• This second meaning is what we will be using here.

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History of Diatribe
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• Originated among Sophists before 200 BC
• Adopted by Cynics and Stoics
• Used by traveling philosophers who taught on
  popular level
• Not a literary genre, but an oral teaching method
• Typically a lecture or writing on moral or
  philosophical topics of popular interest

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History of Diatribe
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• Common topics of ancient diatribes
• Divine providence
• Self-control
• Self-sufficiency
• Epictetus (AD 55-135) especially noted for use of
  this method
• In New Testament, especially used by
• Paul
• James

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Characteristics of Diatribe
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• Not strictly a genre, having no set structure
  like a letter or parable
• Uses features of dialogue
• Uses features of rhetoric

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Features of Dialogue
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• Imaginary opponents or speakers
• Question and answer format
• Hypothetical objections considered
• False conclusions refuted or rejected

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Features of Rhetoric
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• Diatribe also uses standard features of
  Greco-Roman rhetoric (art of public speaking)
• Amplification
• Adding additional matter, details
• Personification
• Figure of speech in which a thing, quality or
  idea is represented as a person.

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Features of Rhetoric
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• Maxim/Proverb
• Concise statement of general truth or rule of
  conduct
• Censure/Praise
• Negative or positive evaluation
• Saying/Action of Famous Person
• Comparison

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Features of Rhetoric
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• Historical Example
• Looking to some famous event or person in history
• List of Virtues or Vices
• Parallelism
• Successive lines have similar features
• Antithesis
• A parallelism contrasting opposites

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Features of Rhetoric
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• Irony
• Intended meaning is opposite of usual sense
• Sarcasm
• Taunting, sneering, cutting remark
• Paradox
• Statement which seems contradictory, unbelievable
  or absurd, but is actually true

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Diatribe in James
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Highlighting in Text
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• Dialogue type features in yellow
• Personification and lists of virtues or vices in
  red/pink
• Maxims or proverbs in green
• Historical examples or sayings of famous people
  in blue
• Irony in orange

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Be on the Lookout
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• For These Features

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