In this weeks reading, the concept of kairos explained in ARCS could also be applied to the reading in the Rhetorical Tradition. The Sophist Gorgias was known to utilize kairos to its full extent, as he would prompt the audience to suggest topics for him to argue on the spot (as described in ARCS page 46). As a rhetorician clearly aware of the crucial importance of rhetorical situation when it comes to successful argument, Gorgias displayed this knowledge in his "Encomium of Helen". While the subject appears to be Helen, he uses the opportunity to defend her against her critics to also advocate the unshakable power of language and its effects on the human mind.
Aside from the lengthy discussion of kairos, ARCS also raises the notions of chreia, which is meant to exalt a notable saying or deed concisely. This was a term that I was unfamiliar with and so I decided to do one of the Progymnasmata exercises after the section gave examples of how to practice it in writing. The directions for exercise 3 were to take a song lyric and cast it as chreia, thusly I have selected a line from Bessie Smith's song "St. Louis Blues": "That man got a heart like a rock cast in the sea".
3. At times, the most powerful way to convey emotion is simply, a notion that 1930s blues singer Bessie Smith is clearly aware of. In her song "St. Louis Blues" she details the sorrow she was caused by loving a man that does not care for her and leads her to travel restlessly, and even consult a gypsy for advice. Her pain is surmised in the brief but haunting repetition of the lyrics "That man got a heart like a rock cast in the sea". It is an effective simile that she uses to explain how callous he is to leave her. Like a rock, his heart is hard and cold and being cast in the sea he is lost in a seemingly endless void. Searching for his heart would be in vain, and though Smith knows this, she still loves him. There is a sad wisdom that rings in Smith's words, one that is relatable and timeless, due to its simplicity. Though she should know better than to be hung up on a man with a heart like a rock, she can't. By admitting this, her lyrics exude a true sense of humanity.
I felt that Hannah effectively applied the teachings within both texts to one another. I felt that the connection between the two readings that she made was correct. It is evident that she has a strong understanding of kairos, which was evident within her analysis of the song "St. Louis Blues." The song lyrics that were provided convey the notion that the said man was unable to feel or have feelings in the emotional sense, whereas, the woman within the song is willing to allow her humanly emotions override her ability to stop falling for a man who does not love her back.
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