The Permanence and Change of Representation: Burke and the Ultimate Act of Death

• In Event: Permanence/Stability and Change: Burkean Perspectives

Abstract

Representations (re)produce realities, engendering discourses of stability and change. To explore representations, I focus on death as the ultimate representation. While we may not desire to experience death, we continue building representations around it. Death can only be represented, reinforcing the divide between representation and reality. I interrogate this phenomenon through critical theories, focusing on Burke’s terministic screens, four master tropes, representative anecdote, and intentional incongruity to understand how representations reflect and build our realities.

Author

• Carly Gieseler, University of South Florida