Rethorical and didactic questions in Vieira's sermons: the "Sixtieth Sermon" and the "Mandate Sermon"

Abstract

This text deals with rhetorical and didactic questions in two sermons of Priest Vieira. It is divided into three parts: in the first the discourse gender is conceptualized, in the second the types of questions are explained and in the third questions are analyzed from three variables: rhetorical and didactic questions; isolated and sequential questions; questions preceded by clauses and direct questions. The analysis reveals there is a predominant type for each variable; therefore the rhetorical questions either isolated or preceded by a preamble are predominant because they are better suited for drawing the believers’ attention.