Sacrificio y Retórica en José Antonio Ramos Sucre

Abstract

Sacrificial allusions and themes pervade the works of the Venezuelan poet José Antonio Ramos Sucre (1890-1930). However, the recurrent appearance of these allusions, their utilization as metaphors, the interpretation of historical events as sacrifices, and the great number of characters with ascetic or atoning features, have not been examined up to now. The aim of this dissertation, then, is to examine the rhetorical ways and contexts in which José Antonio Ramos Sucre uses sacrifice as a theme. First, I will offer a brief discussion of René Girard's theory of sacrifice. I will also make a detailed review of what literary critics like Ángel Rama and Guillermo Sucre. Next, I will analyze four texts: "El disidente", "Duelo de arrabal", "La venganza del Dios" y "A un despojo del vicio". In my analysis, I will follow Guillermo Sucre's suggestion about historical references as metaphors. The scapegoat metaphor will allow me to identify the surrogate victims in and of the text. This reading is antisacrificial in that it reveals the surrogate victim mechanism; in addition, it suggests that Ramos Sucre is exploring the problem of the persecution of innocent people. The last section summarizes the essential findings: metaphor and metonymy as the main rhetorical trope in Ramos Sucre's poems, the contradictions between the rhetorical ideal of exactitude and its working in the poems; Ramos Sucre's rereadings of myths, literary works, and historical events in order to reveal the sacrificial crisis and the surrogate victim; and sacrifice as rhetorical device that allows Ramos Sucre to explore conflicts, discriminations, and persecutions.