Representations: Images of the World in Ciceronian Oratory.

From the library of Prof. Wolfgang Haase, long-time editor of ANRW and the International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT). - Dedication by the author to Prof. Haase and his wife. - Dust jacket a bit rubbed, else good and clean. - Ancient oratory demanded much of the speaker. Trained to anticipate various exigencies, the ancient orator responded immediately to circumstances: the reaction of his audience, the attacks of opponents, or the specific ambiance that prevailed at the time of his performance. Cicero, for example, delivered speeches that exhibited the formal structure and polish of sophisticated literary productions, yet his oratory also reflected the spontaneity and immediacy of extemporaneous creation. Previous studies of Cicero�s speeches considered them as static entities, interesting chiefly for their fidelity or lack of fidelity to the prescriptions of ancient rhetorical theory. Recently scholars have explored the speeches as �documents of progressive persuasion,� but these studies consider the speeches as written texts rather than as reflections of original performances. In Representations: Images of the World in Ciceronian Oratory, Ann Vasaly introduces representation theory into the study of Ciceronian persuasion. Vasaly views Latin literature as an expression of a particular time and place, and contends that an understanding of milieu � social, political, topographical � is crucial to understanding Ciceronian oratory. As a genre of literature uniquely dependent on an immediate interaction within a setting of author and audience, ancient oratory becomes performance art. Vasaly investigates the way Cicero represented the contemporary physical world � places, topography, and monuments, both those seen and those merely alluded to or described � to his listeners and demonstrates how Cicero used these representations to persuade. In her analysis of the role of ambiance in Cicero�s rhetorical strategy, Vasaly recaptures the immediacy of his oratory and arrives at an understanding of a semiotics of space in Ciceronian culture. Exceptionally well written and accessible to a broad audience, this book offers an original perspective on the study of ancient rhetoric and makes a trenchant contribution to an important new area of inquiry in Classical Studies. - ANN VASALY is Assistant Professor of Classical Studies at Boston University. ISBN 9780520077553