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Rhetoric and Oration

 

In the sixteenth century, Thomas Elyot (1546: fol. 41v) defined rhetoric as the science,!her"y is tau#hte an artificiall fourme of s$e%yn#, !herin is the $o!er to $ers!ade,

move, and delyte.& 'umerous text"oo%s on the art of $ersuasive s$eech survive, and

the !riters dealt fully not only !ith the construction of im$assioned discourse "ut also

!ith the various devices s$ea%ers could use to ca$ture the minds of listeners.

Traditionally, rhetoricians divided their art into five

areas: inventio, dispositio, elocutio or decoratio, memoria,

and pronunciatio.Inventio entailed findin# the su"ect matter, and in dispositio, orators

arran#ed or ordered the material to suit their $ur$ose. nce the material had "een

arran#ed, elocutio involved am$lifyin# and decoratin# the discourse !ith fine !ords

and sentences. *$ea%ers then memorised (memoria) and delivered the

s$eech, pronunciatio "ein# concerned !ith the techni+ues of delivery oratorsem$loyed to move the $assions of listeners.

 

ithin these five areas, many rhetoricians considered pronunciatio to "e $reeminent.

Thomas ilson-s remar%s (155: , 4/) ty$ify the $eriod:

 

0emosthenes therfore, that famouse ratour "eyn# as%ed !hat !as the

chiefest $oint in al ratorie, #ave the

  chiefe and onely $raise to ronunciation, "ein# demaunded, !hat !as the

seconde, and the thirde, he still made

  ans!ere, ronunciation, and !ould ma%e none other auns!ere . . . 2or thou#h a

manne can finde out #ood matter,

  and #ood !oordes, thou#h he canne handsomely set them to#ether, and cary

them very !ell a!aie in his mynde,

  yet it is to no $ur$ose, if he have no utteraunce 3delivery . . . rte !ithout

utteraunce can dooe nothyn#, utteraunce

  !ithout rte can dooe ri#ht muche.&

 

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ut, of course, "y ilson-s day the attri"utes of $ersuasive delivery had "een %no!n

for centuries. 7uintilian (c .85), for exam$le, mentioned not only the characteristics of

#ood readin# "ut also the fundamental role a %no!led#e of elocutio $layed !hen

orators $re$ared their delivery:

 

9eadin# 3aloud remains for consideration. In this connexion there is much that

can only "e tau#ht in actual $ractice,

  as for instance, !hen the "oy should ta%e "reath, at !hat $oint he should

introduce a $ause into a line, !here the

  sense ends or "e#ins, !hen the voice should "e raised or lo!ered, !hat

modulation should "e #iven to each $hrase,

  and !hen he should increase or slac%en s$eed, or s$ea% !ith #reater or lessener#y. In this $ortion of my !or%, I !ill

  #ive "ut one #olden rule: to do all these thin#s, he must understand !hat he

reads.&

 

*u$erest lectio, in +ua $uer ut sciat, u"i sus$endere s$iritum de"eat, +uo loco

versum distin#uere, u"i claudatur 

  sensus, unde inci$iat, +uando attollenda vel summittenda sit vox, +uo +uid+ueflexu, +uid lentius, celerius, concitatius,

  lenius dicendum, demonstrari nisi in o$ere i$so non $otest. num est i#itur,

+uod in hac $arte $raeci$iam: ut omnia

  ista facere $ossit, intelli#at.& (Trans. in 7uintilian I, 14;.)

 

In other !ords, in order to s$ea% elo+uently one must understand the structure of the

text and use the techni+ues of pronunciatio (some of !hich 7uintilian lists) to im$ressthe fi#urative lan#ua#e of the text (elocutio) u$on listeners. The function

of pronunciatio and elocutio, and hence the #oal of $ersuasive discourse, then, !as to

im$rint the affections of the text in the souls of listeners (ri#ht 16

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  muove #li oditori con #l-ordini so$radetti, +uanto ma##iormente la Gusica

recitata con i medesimi ordini accom$a#nati

  dall-rmonia, "en unita, farF molto $i effetto.&

 

Gichael raetorius said virtually the same thin#s in 1618 ($. //8):

 

ust as the concern of an orator is not only to adorn an oration !ith "eautiful,

$leasant, and vivid !ords and ma#nificent

  fi#ures "ut also to $ronounce correctly 3that is, to use #ood delivery and to

move the affections: no! he raises his voice,

  no! he lets it fall, no! he s$ea%s !ith a voice sometimes intense and soft,

sometimes !hole and full: so must a musician

  not only sin# "ut sin# !ith art and #race so that the heart of the listener is stirred

and the affections are moved, and thus

  the son# may achieve the $ur$ose for !hich it !as made and to!ard !hich it is

directed.&

 

Jleich !ie eines ratoris m$t ist K nicht allein eine ration mit schLnen

anmuti#en le"haffti#en orten K unnd herrlichen

  2i#uris Cu Cieren K sondern auch recht Cu $ronunciiren, und die affectus Cu

moviren: In dem er "ald die *timmen erhe"et K

  "ald sin%en lesset K "ald mit mMchti#er und sanffter K "ald mit #anCer und voller

*timme redet: lso ist eines Gusicanten

  nicht allein sin#en K "esondern %Nnstlich und anmNti# sin#en: 0amit das herC

der OuhLrer #erNhret K und die affectus

  "e!e#et !erden K und also der Jesan# seine Endschafft K daCu er #emacht K

und dahin er #erichtet K erreichen mL#e.&

 

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In the ei#hteenth century, Jiam"attista Gancini (1;;4: 15

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 s these +uotations demonstrate, fundamental $rinci$les of $erformance in the a#e of

rhetorical $ersuasion remained similar, if not identical, throu#hout the $eriod covered

in this !e"site.