En folketaler med socialistisk patos. Martin Andersen Nexøs tale: "Fattigper og Fremtiden"

Abstract

Martin Andersen Nexø’s speech at the Dynæs-gathering in 1913 is the most important of the many speeches he gave as a public orator, agitator, and popular lecturer, in Denmark and abroad. After an introduction to Danish oratory in the period, this article presents a close textual analysis of the speech, revealing Nexø’s synthesis of different traditions. In 1919, Nexø turned to communism, defending in the decades to come the Soviet Union. His change of ideology did not mean that his way of appealing to the emotions of the audience changed. Hence his oratory is characterized by a generalized pathos, as defined by Madsen and Lund (2021). Nexø’s ortho-dox, communist ideology (after 1919) may explain why there has been little research in his work as popular orator and lec turer. However, his rhetorical works are interesting because they – like his literary works – are marked by original pathos appeals, which made him one of the most popular speakers and writers in the 20th century