American Literature / Unit 5 AML 0405 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Poor Richard and the Aphorism
Captions available
The idea
Writing as Poor Richard, Franklin filled an almanac with sayings that compress advice into a line a reader will remember. The aphorism is the period's characteristic instrument: portable, quotable, and moral without being doctrinal. The persona let Franklin sell prudence while keeping his own name off it.
In practice
Advice, compressed into a line.
Where people slip
Poor Richard is a mask, not Franklin's opinion entire.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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