What is so defining about Irish rhetoric?
Looking back into the past of Ireland the rhetoric of Ireland really grew out of language patterns, and grew outside of Greco-Roman traditions. Ireland is unique in that it is a Western European country with its own growth outside of Rome. Language patterns of modern literature are different ways of interpreting traditional rhetoric. Irish Gaelic reads differently, the values are different than the traditional 5 tenets of rhetoric.
In exploring rhetoric as a place of study I realized Irish rhetoric was different. “I feel like there is something else here.” Irish rhetoric is recursive in nature with a heavy emphasis on oral tradition.
Is the analysis through a Celtic braid an example of cultural rhetoric in and of itself?
The Celtic braid was a form of cultural rhetoric analysis. The values of Irish rhetoric were identified and were constantly pulled through history. Greco-Roman rhetoric is ever-changing, but Irish rhetoric moves in and out over and under and together. The Celtic knot looked like the image in my mind. Celtic knots are continuous, there is no starting or end point it is recursive. They are a call back to the past.
It is one thing that makes Ireland so unique, the Irish held onto their identity as much as possible. Irish culture has held onto Irish rhetoric as much as possible. “The braid represents cultural rhetoric. The symbolism of the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth, friendship, love, evolving and coming back. It evolves and changes but it always comes back to those traditions.”
What defines Irish practical wisdom?
Folklore and folklife lie at the foundation of looking at Irish Rhetoric. Irish proverbs especially, the different mythological cycles, were fantastic, but they are practical in a way and serve to have a meaning that directly ties to the society and the people that need to hear it. Ireland being an agrarian society revolved around needing stories to tie people together with the goals of keeping land, territory, keeping Irish beliefs. Inherent Irishness.
It comes down to oral tradition, so cultural rhetoric and practical wisdom serve to preserve the culture. There are earmarks of tradition that carry over into written and spoken rhetoric that shows a continued struggle for territory and the right to live and retain cultural Irishness.
Practical wisdom serves as a border. A way to hold onto Irish culture which is unique to the Irish way of life.
There is a fierce desire to stay independent. Resiliency. To not become English, to not become Westernized.
How is Phronesis represented or practiced in Irish folklore?
A lot of the stories preserved retain practical wisdom that is more practical for the time and place in which they were constructed. The practical wisdom in folklore in medieval Ireland served to preserve the practical wisdom of that period.
There is also the aspect of Irish proverbs used to preserve Irish perspectives on life and wisdom.
Going back to monastic scripts, got us the four cycles of Irish rhetoric. Studying and using the old scripts translating them and reusing them in modern times helped to incorporate folklore and traditional stories into modern writing.
The application of practical wisdom of retaining and reapplying for recursive historical usage. Translated into time or reused to be applicable to the current time.
What are some unique rhetorical concepts in Irish rhetoric that you have come across in your research?
Spectrality, recursive stories, narrative.
Does spectrality and narrative support Phronesis?
Definitely. Spectrality, continuous never-ending cycles. Cycle of the human condition. Motif of return. There is something to be said for pulling ideas from the past to bring into the present. Told by the fili. Narrative fits into it identifying the values. They work through the Celtic braid, over and under, and pull the past into the present to support the nature and retention of cultural wisdom.
The interplay of spectrality, narrative, and Phronesis lent this society identity and structure across the land. It also encouraged strong familial hierarchies and a strong Identity.
What rhetorical functions do storytelling and folklore use?
Recursive narrative, spectrality, and language are the building blocks. Medieval period- tradition of not giving up identity. The trend of a nationalistic identity is one that is deeply rooted in Irish rhetoric. Nationalism as a rhetorical method, Irish wit, and sarcasm coupled with humor in particular. With darker themes or stories there is a need to mitigate the seriousness with humor.
There is also the rhetoric of Religion, spirituality, the conflict between Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, language, and the rhetoric of struggle in spirituality. The conflict of paganism with Christianity, and then the unique Irish perspective and blended practice of Christianity with traditional Irish culture also used similar rhetorical functions.
How influential or important is Irish poetry and writing in the oral tradition?
The oral tradition goes back to the fili and skilled class of poets. It was their job, the fili, to work this oral tradition. Yeats, Haney, and Joyce are a continuation of the fili. They have captured the oral tradition and put it down to the best of their ability. This is just an example of the recursive nature of Irish culture.
Poets at festivals and storytellers were also a huge aspect of Irish society. Poets were storytellers. The poets we see in modern times are our connection to the past and past oral traditions. Take the past and move it forward. Being pulled forward to transformation which goes back to the analysis of the Celtic braid and spectrality.
There are so many poets that pick up where the fili class left off. They still embody the past rhetorical concepts and embody them for current times. They capture the oral traditions without actually recording them.
How impactful is the individual’s personality on oral literature or phronesis?
It varies. It was all about memorization from varying social classes. Based on how they performed they would be elevated or reduced. Bards were lesser fili. More freedom to tell tales. The individuals had an impact on what they shared. There is a catalog, but different individuals had different access and ability to share and transmit tales. You get the idea, you get the solid idea, but it is only one piece of the larger performance. People place themselves in the work as well. There is a line to be followed.
What place do Irish wit and sarcasm have in Irish rhetoric and oral traditions?
It helps mitigate the seriousness. Life in Ireland. The wit and sarcasm helped to diffuse difficult times culturally but also is used as another way to retain one’s Irishness.
Where do you think research in Irish rhetoric and cultural practices is headed?
Folklore is a dying subject. Perhaps if it dies tradition is there for a reason, learning from past mistakes. Studying folklore requires going back, and embodying recursive cultural rhetoric.
The study of literature is always going to be there but rhetoric comes and goes. Rhetoric as a “buzz” topic versus a cultural embodiment. Now there is a call for going back to look at cultural embodiment. We can reach out to mentors to people who are seeking to retain and save the culture. There is continual interest in the field. People are always looking for new lenses to view things. Traditional lenses are important to explore and practice values.
Understanding rhetoric through memes. There will always be a callback to SOMETHING in the past. There is always a precursor, if we can get it to that level of recursive study and study of narrative, will survive.
There is so much to grow and study and there are so many things to explore and there is a never-ending treasure trove of rhetoric.
There is going to be more study of literature. Older stories are lost or have lost the ability to be performed. We are left with great translations.
There is a cycle of Irish rhetoric. Spoken, written, spoken, written.
Does Irish rhetoric embody anti-colonial rhetoric?
Absolutely. There is a lot but there is a difference between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. History and folklore display an effort to combat colonialism. There is a struggle that is still there, and the continual conflict between NI and RI is also a personal conflict with identity. The Rhetoric of Irish Identity.
What is your favorite folkloric story?
Deirdre of Sorrows.
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