Re-evaluating the Roman orator’s rules through the lens of (im)politeness
Abstract
This paper examines select passages from De Oratore and Cicero’s post reditum speeches using pragmatic and politeness theories. By applying these analytical tools to Cicero’s rhetorical and oratorical works, we can re-evaluate the rules for the ideal orator and the expressive strategies present in the speeches that have come down to us. Rhetorical treatises, indeed, set out the linguistic norms that govern interactions in public contexts where codified conflict takes place and provide guidelines on the correct way to formulate linguistic acts – even potentially aggressive ones – permitted within those contexts. In concrete communicative exchanges, speakers are primarily influenced by the need to conform to the expected linguistic behaviour dictated by the public arenas of the Roman Republic. Only subsequently, they must balance personal objectives: engaging the audience emotionally without causing unintended offense, maintaining their own dignitas, and strategically attacking that of the opponents, when necessary.
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