We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Pain, Speech and Silence in Prudentius Peristephanon 5 and 9.
- Authors
Clarke, Jacqueline
- Abstract
This article explores the relationship between pain, speech and power in Prudentius' Peristephanon. Two poems are selected for a focused analysis: Perist. 5 in which the martyr speaks at length, engaging in a rhetorical contest with his persecutor, and Perist. 9 where the martyr speaks briefly once to encourage his tormentors. By analysing these poems and comparing them with other poems in the Peristephanon , the article shows how martyrs can use speech to transcend pain and transfer suffering to their persecutors but also how silence can be as effective a weapon in their power struggle. Attention is also given to the role which the poet-narrator plays in both poems and the ways in which Prudentius employs his own narrative voice when his martyrs either cannot or do not wish to speak for themselves.
- Subjects
MARTYRS; COMMUNICATION barriers; SPEECHES, addresses, etc.; MARTYRDOM; SCHOOL children
- Publication
Vigiliae Christianae, 2020, Vol 74, Issue 1, p4
- ISSN
0042-6032
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1163/15700720-12341401