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Metanoia 

Updated: Nov 16

A good example of metanoia (pronounced met-a-noi-a) is Hoar's speech in the US Senate in 1902, speaking out against a war.


Hoar, Speech in the Senate (1902): 


Your practical statesmanship which disdains to take George Washington and Abraham Lincoln or the soldiers of the Revolution or of the Civil War as models, has looked in some cases to Spain for your example. I believe — nay, I know — that in general our officers and soldiers are humane. But in some cases they have carried on your warfare with a mixture of American ingenuity and Castilian cruelty. 

The above is an extract from a speech given by George F. Hoar (1826–1904), who was speaking out against the Philippine–American War at the time. The speaker uses metanoia to soften his harsh criticism of the manner in which American soldiers were conducting the war in the Philippines, while not shying away from condemning the wrongdoings that were being committed.

Portrait of George F. Hoar.
Portrait of George F. Hoar.

There are several other reasons why writers would want to employ metanoia. We discuss them here in this article and give several pertinent examples. Read on to learn more. 


What is metanoia?


Metanoia is a rhetorical device that involves a speaker correcting themselves. It is based on the Greek word for “changing one’s mind.” Metanoia is a dramatic rhetorical device that is used as an aid to praeteritio and to emphasize one's points.


Why writers use metanoia 


The uses of metanoia are wide-ranging. Here is the list below:


1. For emphasis. Stopping to correct one’s self causes listeners to pay attention. What is later said after the correction will then be emphasized or highlighted in the mind of teh listener. 


2. An aid to praeteritio. Saying something and taking it back is one stop short of actual praeteritio, which is describing what you will not say. In short, the correction is too late, and the speaker intended to say exactly what he is correcting himself for. 


3. Persuasive effect.  There is some mild persuasive value in metanoia. You can make a controversial claim, which can be revised to make it stronger. This should be employed skillfully though. If not done well, it gives the impression of a weak and improperly thought-out argument. In short, this metanoia should not be based on literal correction. Instead, it should be deliberate and performative artifice. 


Examples of metanoia


Below are listed various examples of metanoia:


Lincoln, Speech at Republican State Convention (1856): 


But slavery will endure no test of reason or logic; and yet its advocates, like Douglass, use a sort of bastard logic, or noisy assumption it might better be termed, like the above, in order to prepare the mind for the gradual, but none the less, certain, encroachments of the Moloch of slavery upon the fair domain of freedom.

Here, Lincoln is using metanoia as fake politeness in retracting his use of the word “bastard” to describe his opponent. 


Fielding, Tom Jones (1749): 


The reader will be pleased to remember, that we left Mr. Jones in the beginning of this book, on his road to Bristol; being determined to seek his fortune at sea, or rather, indeed, to fly away from his fortune on shore.

Metanoia is employed in this passage for emphasis. The author would like to highlight the irony of Mr. Jones perhaps making an unwise decision in turning his back on fortunes established at home to seek uncertain fortunes at sea. 


Othello, 5, 2: 


If she come in, she’ll sure speak to my wife.

My wife, my wife. What wife? I have no wife. 


The excerpt above is Othello speaking after he murders his innocent and loyal wife after being tricked into thinking that she was cheating on him.  The second line is a kind of praeteritio, with the speaker unable to admit to himself that he has killed his wife.  The use of metanoia does a good job of illustrating the agitated state of mind and disbelief that Othello is in after he commits the horrid act. 


References


Farnsworth, W. (2010). Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric. David R. Godine. 

 

Cite this EminentEdit article

Antoine, M. (2024, October 15). Metanoia. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/metanoia



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