“‘I will open my lips in vain’ (3.1.192): l’échec rhétorique dans Measure for Measure”

Unlike other plays like King John, Richard III or most of the comedies, in which language is often presented as a powerful instrument of persuasion, Measure for Measure is a play that stages a number of ’’rhetorical failures’’. Though Isabella is said to master the art of speaking, she does not succ...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Mickaël Popelard
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte" 2013-01-01
Series:Sillages Critiques
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/2622
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832578601648652288
author Mickaël Popelard
author_facet Mickaël Popelard
author_sort Mickaël Popelard
collection DOAJ
description Unlike other plays like King John, Richard III or most of the comedies, in which language is often presented as a powerful instrument of persuasion, Measure for Measure is a play that stages a number of ’’rhetorical failures’’. Though Isabella is said to master the art of speaking, she does not succeed in convincing Angelo that he must spare her brother’s life. It is striking that neither Claudio nor the Duke himself should prove more successful in their own attempts at persuasion. Even Barnardine’s stubborn refusal to die may be adduced as further evidence that speeches often meet with perlocutionary failure in the play. In the end it is not Isabella’s rhetorical skills but the Duke’s ’’dark deeds’’ that make it possible for the play to escape the tragic ending it was moving towards. Such a shift from Isabella’s rhetorical powerlessness to the Duke’s silent scheming is yet another indication of the play’s dual nature. That the voluble Isabella finally chooses to remain silent, letting the Duke dictate what she must say and do, is one of the most puzzling aspects of this intriguing comedy which suggests that one often speaks ’’in vain’’ whilst simultaneously celebrating, by its very existence, the dramatic and poetical efficacy of language.
format Article
id doaj-art-9eaf23ca00394d698d0647dec0a52974
institution Kabale University
issn 1272-3819
1969-6302
language English
publishDate 2013-01-01
publisher Centre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte"
record_format Article
series Sillages Critiques
spelling doaj-art-9eaf23ca00394d698d0647dec0a529742025-01-30T13:46:39ZengCentre de Recherche "Texte et Critique de Texte"Sillages Critiques1272-38191969-63022013-01-011510.4000/sillagescritiques.2622“‘I will open my lips in vain’ (3.1.192): l’échec rhétorique dans Measure for Measure”Mickaël PopelardUnlike other plays like King John, Richard III or most of the comedies, in which language is often presented as a powerful instrument of persuasion, Measure for Measure is a play that stages a number of ’’rhetorical failures’’. Though Isabella is said to master the art of speaking, she does not succeed in convincing Angelo that he must spare her brother’s life. It is striking that neither Claudio nor the Duke himself should prove more successful in their own attempts at persuasion. Even Barnardine’s stubborn refusal to die may be adduced as further evidence that speeches often meet with perlocutionary failure in the play. In the end it is not Isabella’s rhetorical skills but the Duke’s ’’dark deeds’’ that make it possible for the play to escape the tragic ending it was moving towards. Such a shift from Isabella’s rhetorical powerlessness to the Duke’s silent scheming is yet another indication of the play’s dual nature. That the voluble Isabella finally chooses to remain silent, letting the Duke dictate what she must say and do, is one of the most puzzling aspects of this intriguing comedy which suggests that one often speaks ’’in vain’’ whilst simultaneously celebrating, by its very existence, the dramatic and poetical efficacy of language.https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/2622languagesilencetragedycomedyrhetoricrhetorical failure
spellingShingle Mickaël Popelard
“‘I will open my lips in vain’ (3.1.192): l’échec rhétorique dans Measure for Measure”
Sillages Critiques
language
silence
tragedy
comedy
rhetoric
rhetorical failure
title “‘I will open my lips in vain’ (3.1.192): l’échec rhétorique dans Measure for Measure”
title_full “‘I will open my lips in vain’ (3.1.192): l’échec rhétorique dans Measure for Measure”
title_fullStr “‘I will open my lips in vain’ (3.1.192): l’échec rhétorique dans Measure for Measure”
title_full_unstemmed “‘I will open my lips in vain’ (3.1.192): l’échec rhétorique dans Measure for Measure”
title_short “‘I will open my lips in vain’ (3.1.192): l’échec rhétorique dans Measure for Measure”
title_sort i will open my lips in vain 3 1 192 l echec rhetorique dans measure for measure
topic language
silence
tragedy
comedy
rhetoric
rhetorical failure
url https://journals.openedition.org/sillagescritiques/2622
work_keys_str_mv AT mickaelpopelard iwillopenmylipsinvain31192lechecrhetoriquedansmeasureformeasure