"The Rhetoric of ""Explanation in Lucretius' ""De Rerum Natura"

Markovic, Daniel

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/87457 Copy

Description

Title

"The Rhetoric of ""Explanation in Lucretius' ""De Rerum Natura"

Author(s)

Markovic, Daniel

Issue Date

2006

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Howard Jacobson

Department of Study

Classical Philology

Discipline

Classical Philology

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

Literature, Classical

Language

eng

Abstract

The Introduction states the question, points out the inadequacies of the treatments it received in the past, and advances the first two theses, announcing the way in which they will be supported in the following three chapters. Chapter One addresses Lucretius' choice of presenting Epicurus' teaching in the form of didactic epos, and examines this choice as a rhetorical move that stems from the programmatic goals set by Epicurus. Chapter Two examines the questions of how Lucretius structured his poem, what rhetorical devices did he use to further its transparency, and how are the forms of exposition and organizing principles of DRN related to the formal features of Epicurus' On Nature. Chapter Three is devoted to the main methods of argumentation in DRN, and to the question of how particular stylistic procedures in the poem are connected with particular types of philosophical arguments developed by Epicurus. The Conclusion contains the third thesis and points out that the ultimate goal of Epicurus' and Lucretius' rhetoric was a missionary one---to change the life of the individual.

Graduation Semester

2006

Type of Resource

text

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/87457

Owning Collections