Geschke/English IV "A Call to Arms" “A Call to Arms” by Callinus c. 680 B.C.-630 B.C

Geschke/English IV "A Call to Arms" Rhetoric The effective or persuasive use of language

Geschke/English IV "A Call to Arms" Stanza 1 “How long will you lie idle, and when will you find some courage”(1) “…Have you no shame of what other cities will say,/ you who hang back?...” (2-3)

Geschke/English IV "A Call to Arms" Stanza 1 Purpose of the Rhetoric Most people desire to not be referenced as a coward Especially during this time period Displays a fundamental knowledge of human psychology Rhetoric questions people’s honor and reputation

Geschke/English IV "A Call to Arms" Stanza 2 “It is a high thing, a bright honor, for a man to do battle with the enemy for the sake of his children, and for his land and his true wife…” (6-8)

Geschke/English IV "A Call to Arms" Stanza 2 Plays on a cultural/human belief Protect wife, children and country Rhetoric questions people’s patriotism

Geschke/English IV "A Call to Arms" Stanza 2 “…death is a thing that will come when the spinning Destinies make it come. So a man should go straight on forward, spear held high, and under his shield the fighting strength coiled ready to strike in the first shock of the charge. When it is ordained that a man shall die, there is no escaping death, not even for one descended from deathless gods.” (8-13)

Geschke/English IV "A Call to Arms" Stanza 2 Purpose of the Rhetoric Plays on cultural belief (fate/destiny) Use of logic—you will die when you are destined to die no matter where you are. Therefore, fight in the front lines (most dangerous) Most effective use of rhetoric in the poem

Geschke/English IV "A Call to Arms" Stanza 2 “Often a man who has fled from the fight and the clash of the thrown spears goes his way, and death befalls him in his own house, and such a man is not loved nor missed for long by his people” (14-16)

Geschke/English IV "A Call to Arms" Stanza 2 Purpose of the Rhetoric Plays on cultural belief (honor) You might live but you will not be remembered

Geschke/English IV "A Call to Arms" Stanza 2 “the great and the small alike mourn when a hero dies. For all the populace is grieved for the high-hearted warrior after his death; while he lives, he is treated as almost divine. Their eyes gaze on him as if he stood like a bastion before them. His actions are like an army’s, though he is only one man.” (17-21)

Geschke/English IV "A Call to Arms" Stanza 2 Purpose of Rhetoric Plays on cultural belief (honor) If you fight, you will be called a hero If you die in battle, the entire country will mourn for you You will be treated as if you were a god