There is a general agreement among the exegetes that the language of the Fourth Gospel is very simple. But surprising is the accusation against St. John regarding his knowledge of the rhetoric: „John did not know many of the rhetorical techniques described by Aristotle, Cicero, and other later rhetoricians” (Ellis).The purpose of this article is to challenge this opinion by presentation of the rhetorical questions, present in the first part of the Passion Narrative according to St. John. As it turns out, each one of nine questions encountered during the reading of Jn 18,1–27 represents a concrete rhetoric question (usually of the category interrogatio/ἐρώτημα, but twice also of the category quaesitum/πύσμα) and each one of them performs a definite function in the text. Therefore, in spite of the simplicity of St. John’s narration, the Evangelist displays quite great literary craftsmanship and demonstrates a very good knowledge of the classical rhetoric andthe ability of its application.
The article analyzes the utterance made by Judas in the Cenacle (1) in the context of his efforts to hand Jesus over to the chief priests (Matt 26:14–25). The fact that his question (Matt 26:25) includes the particle μήτι which assumes a negative response from the interlocutor (1–2) suggests that the disciple was unaware that he was betraying Jesus. Consequently, there is no shortage of positive opinions about Judas, expressed both in the past and today. Matthew’s narrative, however, says something different in this regard. The research problem is therefore seeking an answer to the question: how to interpret Judas’ words? The referenced various biblical translations (3.1) and claims of exegetes (3.2) quote the words of the apostles (Matt 26:22,25) and explain them in an ambiguous manner. The attempts to solve the problem shown in sections 2 and 3.1–2 do not provide a satisfactory conclusion. In the last section (4), the grammatical rules and narrative logic – which are clearly in contradiction – are supplemented with a rhetorical perspective, which leads to a definitive resolution of the dilemma. The synchronic approach applied to the pericope Matt 26:14–25 allows one to draw the conclusion that in Judas’ utterance one should identify a rhetorical question from the category interrogatio/ἐρώτημα whose function in Matt 26:25 is auferendae dissimulationis (“misleading pretense”). Many exegetes have decrypted Judas’ dishonest conduct, but it is only this article that precisely defines this rhetorical phenomenon.
The article analyzes the usage of so-called rhetorical questions in Czech televised debates about politics or other public topics such as culture. The author considers a rhetorical question to be an utterance which has the form of an interrogative, but whose communicative function is that of a statement, or – to be more exact – a statement which contains some personal commitment of the speaker, i.e. an opinion, argument, accusation, reproach, self-defense, etc. As the understanding of an utterance as a rhetorical question depends on its context, mainly on the knowledge the communicative partners share, the analysis focuses on the features of the context which are relevant for communicants in deciding whether an utterance is a rhetorical question or a genuine one. The analysis reveals that the rhetorical question is a common device used by both the guests and the hosts of these programs, even though the strict observance of the media debates’ rules should exclude using it. Contrary to the commonly-held opinion, which is also reflected in much of the literature, the analysis shows that there could be answers to rhetorical questions in a dialogue, and, in fact, an answer could even be required by the dialogue participants.
The article summarizes various definitions of the so-called rhetorical question from the ancient rhetoric to the contemporary modern linguistic theories, in particular it is interested in the treatment of this phenomenon in the Speech Act Theory (known as the communicative function of the utterance in Czech linguistics) and in Ethnomethodological Conversation Analysis. Despite being a very common means of communication in various speech genres, the rhetorical question has not received much attention to in linguistics literature, and its definitions vary considerably. The aim of the study is to find a definition of the rhetorical question which is applicable to the analyses of dialogue, particularly to the analysis of TV talk shows and political debates. Contrary to the commonly-held opinion, which is also reflected in much of the literature, the study shows that there could be answers to rhetorical questions in a dialogue, and, in fact, an answer could even be required by the dialogue participants. The understanding of an utterance as a rhetorical question depends on the knowledge the communicative partners share. But their presuppositions about the world could differ, hence varying reactions to a “would be” rhetorical question may occur in a dialogue.
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