I’m slowly tackling Presidents Creating the Presidency: Deeds Done in Words by Dr. Karlyn Kors Campbell and Dr. Kathleen Hall Jamieson.
The first chapter of the book deals with inaugural addresses and provides a helpful explanation of (a) what epideictic rhetoric is and (b) how presidential inaugural addresses fall under this category.
Presidential inaugurals are a subspecies of the kind of discourse that Aristotle called epideictic, a form of rhetoric that praises or blames on ceremonial occasions, invites the audience to evaluate the speaker’s performance, recalls the past and speculates about the future while focusing on the present, employs a noble, dignified literary style, and amplifies or rehearses admitted facts…
The general qualities of epideictic rhetoric, modified by the nature of presidential investiture, generate four interrelated elements that define the essential presidential inaugural address and differentiate it from other types of epideictic rhetoric.
The presidential inaugural:
- Unifies the audience by reconstituting its members as “the people” who can witness and ratify the ceremony.
- Rehearses communal values drawn from the past.
- Sets forth the political principles that will guide the new administration.
- Demonstrates through enactment that the president appreciates the requirements and limitations of executive functions.
Whew! Not only is epideictic hard to say five times fast, but it carries significant meaning and has a specific purpose.
More on that purpose part tomorrow.
