Date post: | 16-Apr-2017 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | dara-doran-miller |
View: | 219 times |
Download: | 0 times |
Declaring IndependenceBy Jay Fliegelman
More than a document...
In Fliegelman’s argument, the act of demands attention.
Declare, v. To make known or state publicly, formally, or in explicit terms; to assert, proclaim, announce or pronounce by formal statement or in solemn terms.
“[In] ‘the elocutionary revolution,’ [a] new language was composed not of words themselves, but of
the tones, gestures, and expressive countenance with
which a speaker delivered those words.” (Fliegelman 2)
Jefferson’s Pauses
“…there is compelling evidence that he thought deeply about how it should be and ”
(Fliegelman 5)
read heard.
Jefferson’s Influences
“In opposition to the spoken Declaration, whose speaker illuminated, elicited, and partially created its meaning in the context of a larger social interaction, the printed Declaration, experienced as it is today in the individualistic context of a silent reading largely untuned to the performative dimension of the text, is radically cut off from its original rhetorical context.” (Fliegelman 21)
The Declaration of Independence, John Trumbell
Pennsylvania militia colonel John Nixon (1733-1808) is portrayed in the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 6, 1776. This scene was created by William Hamilton after a drawing by George Noble and appeared in Edward Barnard, History of England (London, 1783).
Rhetoric and DemocracyThe Elocutionary Revolution
Conclusions Significant contextual analysis of
the Declaration of Independence Draws important distinction:
Declaration as document vs. the rhetorical act of Declaration
Engages audience in questioning assumed readings of foundational documents
Questions Limited evidence from rhetorical marks Critical methodology
“Speculative historicism” -- Mitchell Breitweiser
Works Cited
Burgh, James. The Art of Speaking. Baltimore: Printed for
Samuel Butler by John Butler, 1804. Google Book Search. Web. 16 Sept 2013.
Hamilton, William. “First Public Reading of the Declaration of
Independence.” History of England. London: 1783. Library of Congress. Web. 16 Sept 2013.
Levine, Robert. “Constellating Associations: Jay Fliegelman
and Critical Method.” Early American Literature. 43.1(2008): 145-151. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 16 Sept. 2013
Savage, Edward. Congress Voting the Declaration of Independence.
1776. Library of Congress. Web. 16 Sept 2013.
Book images courtesy of Amazon