Vividness in the Gospel of Luke

In this dissertation I argue that elements of experiential vividness in Luke represent the evangelist’s use of enargeia, a form of Greco-Roman rhetoric that aims to tell a story so vividly that audience members feel as though they are all but present in the story and experiencing it themselves. Texts that use the experiential vividness of enargeia are thus more impactful and persuasive for an audience, as enargeia mimics the effect of being an eyewitness and can make the narrated version of events seem true, or at least plausible. Enargeia in Luke has received little scholarly attention, likely because it is not associated with clear identifying features in ancient rhetorical texts and so can be quite difficult to study. However, scholars in classics have recently noted a strong resemblance between enargeia and the concept of “narrative immersion.” Narrative immersion refers to the experience of being so immersed in a story that the members of the audience feel as though they are all but present in the story themselves. As such, it involves the same type of experiential vividness that characterizes enargeia. Yet in contrast to enargeia, narrative immersion is associated with concrete textual features that can be clearly identified. The strong similarity between narrative immersion and enargeia has provided a way to identify and analyze an ancient author’s use of enargeia, and in this project I attend to features of narrative immersion in Luke to study the evangelist’s use of enargeia as part of his strategy to make his work more impactful for his audience.