The Subtle Subtext

“In this lively and original work, Laurent Pernot argues that the production of double meaning is a far more wide-ranging phenomenon than we previously thought. Alongside the ‘figured speech’ of ancient Greek and Roman rhetoric, Pernot explores a wealth of cases from nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature, politics, and popular culture. From Michel Foucault’s parrhēsia to The X-Files, dog whistles, and Pink Floyd: there’s much here to delight and instruct.”

—Susan C. Jarratt, author of Chain of Gold: Greek Rhetoric in the Roman Empire

“Pernot adroitly builds his case for the remarkable linguistic faculty that permits one to persuade, convince, illustrate, argue, and entertain most effectively with indirectness and courtesy and by playing with language.”

—K. Liu Choice

Laurent Pernot is Member of the Institut de France and Professor of Greek Language and Literature at the University of Strasbourg. He is the author of numerous books in his field, including Rhetoric in Antiquity; Alexandre le Grand: Les risques du pouvoir; and Epideictic Rhetoric: Questioning the Stakes of Ancient Praise. He is also the editor of New Chapters in the History of Rhetoric.