📌 Epirrhema
Definition:
An epirrhema is a rhetorical device from ancient Greek drama in which a speaker (often in comedy) delivers a long, formal, and usually argumentative or moralizing speech that comments on the main action. It’s often witty, satirical, or didactic in tone, meant to drive home a point or entertain while teaching.
✅ Example:
In Aristophanes’ The Knights (classical Greek comedy), a character steps aside to directly address the audience with a long speech criticizing corrupt politicians — that speech is an epirrhema because it mixes humor with moral commentary.
A modern-style example:
- “Look at the world we live in—machines everywhere, people staring into glowing screens, calling it connection. And yet, never have we been so alone. Progress, they call it! But tell me, what kind of progress takes us further from each other?”
This speech-like passage functions as an epirrhema because it pauses the action to deliver a moral/critical reflection.
And there it is! Now go ahead and use Epirrhema in your CXC prep/ CSEC prep.
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