272 research outputs found
“artifices scaenici, qui imitantur adfectus”: Displaying emotions in Roman drama and oratory
Because of the kinds of sources available, any discussion of forms of visualization of emotions in ancient Rome will have to rely on what can be
inferred from ancient texts; literary genres where display is at issue thus
seem most promising as objects of study. Therefore, after some preliminary considerations, this article focusses on significant passages from Roman drama (mainly comedies by Plautus and Terence and tragedies by
Seneca the Younger) as well as Roman oratory (mainly Cicero’s speeches)
in which speakers describe the appearance of others or their own reactions and interpret these as indications of emotional states: such comments reveal views on the ways in which bodily features and particular
emotions were seen as linked. The importance of the visual display of
emotions as an element of social communication, which can also be inferred for everyday life, goes hand in hand with scepticism as to the genuineness of the emotions shown. Interestingly, writers such as Horace and
Cicero address the question of whether it is necessary for orators and actors to experience certain feelings to convey them plausibly. The analysis
of relevant extracts demonstrates that strong emotions were assumed to
be shown by changes in facial expression, tone of voice, and gestures, and
that the display of genuine emotions was felt to be more effective for the
purposes of the plot of plays or the argument of speeches
Dionysus / Bacchus / Liber in Cicero
This chapter examines the occurrence of the god’s different appellations Dionysus, Bacchus and Liber in the works of Cicero as well as their various
functions and connotations. A range of perspectives on the god emerges across
the surviving corpus of Cicero’s works: philosophical, oratorical, rhetorical and
epistolographic. The view taken of the god generally corresponds to the immediate rhetorical aim of Cicero or whichever of his characters is speaking. Significant
examples are discussed under several headings: cultural theologies, metonymical value of Bacchus/Liber, Bacchic raving and Liberalia – a festival of freedom?
From a linguistic point of view, Cicero employs all three names depending on the
context: he refers to Liber when pointing out positive aspects of the Roman god
and the associated festival and cult, chooses the name Bacchus metonymically
for wine and its derivatives to illustrate raving, and speaks of Dionysus in discussions of the Greek god and his genealogy. The term Bacchus and related words
tend to appear in passages with more negative connotations than the designation
Liber; similarly, Cicero regarded the erection of statues of Bacchants in his house
as inappropriate for his image
Catullus and Martial in Thomas Campion's Epigrams
This paper explores the influence of the poetry of Catullus, both on his own and
as filtered by Martial, on the Latin epigrams of the British Elizabethan / Jacobean writer Thomas Campion (1567–1620). By looking at a selection of examples, the study shows how Campion’s epigrams adopt and develop a number of
motifs from Catullus, some of which had been taken up by Martial. The creative
reworking of such elements contributes to enabling Campion to establish an
individual brand of epigrams suitable for his own time
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