Oratory

The largest gatherings in human history prior to the advent of electronic amplification were all effectively limited by the loudness and intelligibility of the human voice. Various accounts throughout history depict single orators addressing crowds or armies of many tens of thousands, though some historians have cast doubts onto the veracity of these claims. Prior acoustic simulation has shown that reasonable intelligibility might be achieved for over 20,000 listeners for very loud orators and very quiet crowds with high density. Nearly all such accounts, however, depict a man addressing the crowd, with one notable exception: in 1588 Elizabeth I of England addressed a large army of between 5,000-23,000 troops gathered to repel the impending invasion by the Spanish Armada. The acoustic plausibility of this account is tested via STI simulations, focusing primarily on the density, noise, and environmental conditions at the time of the speech, as well as the frequency-dependent differences between female and male orators' vocal spectra and a sound radiation patterns.

G. Cazals, « "Le voilà dans l’Éthiopie" De l’ailleurs dans les plaidoyers de la Renaissance », dans Les recueils de Plaidoyez à la Renaissance entre droit et littérature. Actes du colloque organisé à Avignon, 5-6 juin 2014, Genève, Librairie Droz, dir. Géraldine Cazals et Stéphan Geonget, Genève, Librairie Droz, 2018, p. 187-219

This is a set of slides on ancient Rhetoric and Oratory. As for other topics taught in the course "Approaches to Ancient Studies", it was meant just as a quick initiation, i.e. making the students aware of the significance of these activities which were so important in the Greek and Roman worlds.

The textbook used was D.M. Schaps, Handbook for Classical Research, Routledge 2011. I follow it quite closely in these slides as I was teaching this topic for the first time during a colleague's sabbatical year.

I had the opportunity to use this brilliant paronomasia:

"No matter how much you push the envelope, it will still be stationary."

Speeches of Swami Vivekananda and Subhash Chandra Bose: A Comparative Study deciphers the speeches of Swami Vivekananda and Subhash Chandra Bose to trace out the thought patterns, revealed through the language, and thus to find out the points of similarities and dissimilarities for the final evaluation without harming the reputation of the two. 

(Speeches of Swami Vivekananda and Subhash Chandra Bose: A Comparative Study. Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 2006. Pp. 118. Rs. 200/-. ISBN: 81-7977-149-0)

Quo usque tandem ... What made (and still makes) this opening question so eminently effective and memorable? By way of an answer, this paper suggests that (i) it is the double collusion
between rhetorical form and content, of which (ii) all later allusions acknowledge one.

This article investigates the emergence of protest music in Tahiti, understood as voiced feelings of opposition against social or political injustice and processes of cultural standardization, as well as more implicit and “pacific” forms of artistic reactions to such issues. The study identifies a system of overlapping musical “fields” within the Tahitian musical landscape, and discusses key historical, cultural, and artistic factors that have, led in the last decades to the emergence of contemporary Tahitian protest music. It unveils connections between literature, oratory art, and songwriting, and looks into their implications on the work of selected singers-songwriters.

Article first published in "Acting Archives Essays" (www.actingarchives.it) April 2011, later included in “Theory of Acting. From Antiquity to the Eighteenth Century” (chapter 2), Napoli: Marsilio & Acting Archives, December 2012 (download: academia.edu).

Plato and Aristotle are key figures in the study of rhetoric. Classical period had been known as the era where rhetoric emerged as the influential language existence. Experts on rhetoric had discussed deeply about the history of rhetoric from the classical period up to the renaissance. In this writing, the focus of the discussion is in the classical period. The reviews being discussed in this writing are mainly derived from ongoing discussion on rhetoric.

The book consists of three parts– Introduction, Select Speeches and Questions-Answers. In the first chapter of Introduction, which consists of 5 chapters, Singh details Swami’s eventful life. In the Second Part of the book Singh has meticulously selected some of Swamiji’s speeches which are especially useful to Indian young people who have to do the onerous task of nation building. The third part Questions-Answers has been designed to help the students and readers of Vivekananda literature.

(Swami Vivekananda: Select Speeches. Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 2004 & 2012 (Second Enlarged Edition with ISBN). Pp. 190. Rs. 80/-. ISBN: 978-81-7977-466-3)

In 346/5 BC, Aeschines prosecuted Timarchus, a well-known Athenian politician, under a procedure known as dokimasia rhētorōn. Timarchus was accused of illegally addressing the Assembly on account of his actions as a male prostitute and squanderer of his patrimony (Aeschin. 1.28-32, 154). In his accusation, Aeschines devoted much attention to the education and morals of Athenian citizens (Aeschin. 1.6-27) and Timarchus’ character and public career (Aeschin. 1.39-70, 106-115), conjuring the evidence of Homer and other poets to discuss homosexual love and the reliability of rumour (Aeschin. 1.125-40). As a result, doubts have been cast on Aeschines’ adherence to the legal issue at hand (Ford 1999; more cautiously Fisher 2001: 127-8), and it has even been suggested that the orator made up the procedure of dokimasia rhētorōn while actually prosecuting Timarchus under a graphē hetairēseōs (Lane Fox 1994: 149-51).

This paper puts these claims under scrutiny and argues that Aeschines’ rhetorical strategy in Against Timarchus was inextricably bound to the nature of the legal procedure. After reconstructing Aeschines’ plaint and the relevant legal allegations (Harris 2013), I shall provide a detailed analysis of his argument. Given the weakness of the legal charges against Timarchus, Aeschines abundantly relies on character evidence and pits the defendant against allegedly Solonian moral legislation. I will show that these evidence was relevant to the legal charges of prostitution and squandering of inheritance. Through a comparison with speeches dealing with other types of dokimasia (Lys. 16; 26; 31), moreover, I will show that Aeschines’ use of character evidence was engrained in the nature of the dokimasia rhētorōn and allowed the orator to prove that Timarchus was unfit for advising the dēmos on matters of public policy.

Historians of rhetoric have long worked to recover women’s education in reading and writing, but have only recently begun to explore women’s speaking practices, from the parlor to the platform to the varied types of institutions where women learned elocutionary and oratorical skills in preparation for professional and public life. This book fills an important gap in the history of rhetoric and suggests new paths for the way histories may be told in the future, tracing the shifting arc of women’s oratorical training as it develops from forms of eighteenth-century rhetoric into institutional and extra-institutional settings at the end of the nineteenth century and diverges into several distinct streams of community-embodied theory and practice in the twentieth.

Treating key rhetors, genres, settings, and movements from the early republic to the present, these essays collectively challenge and complicate many previous claims made about the stability and development of gendered public and private spheres, the decline of oratorical culture and the limits of women’s oratorical forms such as elocution and parlor rhetorics, and women’s responses to rhetorical constraints on their public speaking. Enriching our understanding of women’s oratorical education and practice, this work makes an important contribution to scholarship in rhetoric and communication. Chapters include:

Introduction: American Women Learn to Speak: New Forms of Inquiry into Women’s Rhetorics —David Gold and Catherine L. Hobbs
1. “By Women, You Were Brought Forth into This World”: Cherokee Women’s Oratorical Education in the Late Eighteenth Century —M. Amanda Moulder
2. “A Vapour Which Appears but for a Moment”: Oratory and Elocution for Girls during the Early American Republic —Carolyn Eastman
3. Speaking and Writing in Conversation: Constructing the Voice of Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis —Annmarie Valdes
4. Negotiating Conflicting Views of Women and Elocution: Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps, Florence Hartley, and Marietta Holley —Jane Donawerth
5. “To Supply This Deficiency”: Margaret Fuller’s Boston Conversations as Hybrid Rhetorical Practice —Kristen Garrison
6. “God Sees Me”: Surveillance and Oratorical Training at Nineteenth-Century St. Mary-of-the-Woods in Indiana —Elizabethada A. Wright
7. The Arguments They Wore: The Role of the Neoclassical Toga in American Delsartism —Lisa Suter
8. Womanly Eloquence and Rhetorical Bodies: Regendering the Public Speaker through Physical Culture —Paige V. Banaji
9. Rethinking Etiquette: Emily Post’s Rhetoric of Social Self-Reliance for American Women —Nancy Myers
10. “Remember the World Is Not a Playground but a Schoolroom”: Barbara Jordan’s Early Rhetorical Education —Linda Ferreira-Buckley
11. Learning Not to Preach: Evangelical Speaker Beth Moore and the Rhetoric of Constraint —Emily Murphy Cope

يحاول هذا البحث إعادة فحص موقف أفلاطون ’العدائي‘ من البلاغة، كما يظهر في محاورتي ‘جورجياس’ و’فيدروس’. ويحاول استكشاف فرضية أن مفهوم البلاغة التي ينتقدها أفلاطون يشير إلى البلاغة السياسية وبعض أشكال البلاغة القضائية فحسب. ومن ثمَ يُحاج البحث بأن نقد أفلاطون للبلاغة هو نقد للخطابات السياسية التي تستهدف السيطرة على الشعوب بواسطة استخدام تقنيات التضليل اللغوية من ناحية ونقد للخطابات القضائية التضليلية من ناحية أخرى. ويحاول البحث الإجابة عن أسئلة محددة هي: ما البلاغة التي ينتقدها أفلاطون؟ ولماذا ينتقدها؟ وما البلاغة البديلة التي يقترحها أفلاطون؟ وهل يمكن تحقيقها؟ ويناقش البحث المشكلات التي ينطوي عليها موقف أفلاطون من البلاغة، وبعض الاستجابات المعرفية لهذا الموقف قديما وحديثا؛ سواء أكانت تنتمي إلى الفلسفة أم البلاغة. وتتضمن الخاتمة عرضًا لأثر نقد أفلاطون للبلاغة في البلاغة العربية.

Old-Polish genethliac speeches. An exploratory study This study is dedicated to the issue of Old-Polish oratory genethliac variant, that is congratulatory speech delivered on occasion of offspring’s birth – in either theoretical and practical aspect. The main part of the study comprises an analysis of a few selected rhetorical lectures from 17th and 18th century manuscripts, which reveals changes occurring in the text’s structure and composition.

The first history of acting theory in the West, from antiquity to the eighteenth century when the specific characteristics of the actor’s art were established. An account of the long cultural journey to understanding every aspect behind an actor’s on-stage transformation. 

Summary:

ACTING THEORY IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
Divine Possession. Alteration and Contagion. Development of Dramatic Forms. Acting as a Specialized Activity. Emotional Tension and Frenzy. Persistence of “Ion’s” Doctrine. Moderation and Self-Control. The Emergence of the Character. The New Form of Emotional Involvement. The Actor’s Art and the Orator’s. The Use of Emotion. Emotion and Expression. The Techniques of Identification. Control and Perfection of Expression. Possibility of an Anti-Emotional Theory.
FROM THE CHURCH FATHERS TO THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
Theatre as a Source of Irrational Impulses. The Condemnation of Christian Authors. The New Image of Acting. The Humanist Ennobling of Theatre. Humanist Experiments and Court Performances. Professional Actors and the Commedia all’Improvviso. The Revival of Religious Opposition and the Actor’s New Status.
THE EARLY ITALIAN TREATISES AND THE THEORETICAL ACTING MODEL
The Academicians Establish the First Rules of Acting. Giraldi Cintio’s “Discorsi”. Angelo Ingegneri. Stage Characters as Reality Perfected. Leone de’ Sommi’s “Dialoghi” and Theory Based on Stage Experience. The Writings of Pier Maria Cecchini. The Theoretical Model of Acting. Flaminio Scala and the Decline of the Early Treatises.
THE WORLD OF ORATORY. PERRUCCI, GRIMAREST AND GILDON
The Theatre Controversy. The Horizons of Oratory. Recitation: the Mysterious Difference. The New Treatises. Andrea Perrucci, Recitation, Oratory and “Commedia all’Improvviso”. Experience, Rules and the Insufficiency of “Actio”. Grimarest. Gildon.
THE BIRTH OF EMOTIONALISM
The Dramaturgic Function of Recitation. Natural Recitation. The Beginnings of Emotionalism. Luigi Riccoboni. Acting by Improvisation. First Formulation of the Emotionalist Theory. Criticism of Riccoboni. Reform of the Code and Franz Lang’s Treatise. Jean-Baptiste Du Bos.
THE CRITIQUE OF ACTING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTIONALISM. D’AIGUEBERRE, CIBBER, AARON HILL AND RÉMOND DE SAINTE-ALBINE
D’Aigueberre and the Founding of the Critique of Acting. Cibber’s Autobiography and Garrick’s and Foote’s Essays. Aaron Hill. Rémond de Sainte-Albine’s Treatise. The Functions of Technique. The Problems of Emotionalism.
ANTIEMOTIONALISM. ANTOINE-FRANÇOIS RICCOBONI, LESSING, DIDEROT
English Versions of “Le Comédien”. Antoine-François Riccoboni’s “L’art du Théâtre”. Lessing’s project. Sticotti and Diderot. Artistic Creation. The “Paradoxe” and Its Reasoning. The Characteristics of Sensibility. Real Life-Theatre Difference. Actors and Characters. The Problems of the “Paradoxe”.
THE END OF CENTURY DEBATE. ENGEL, BOSWELL AND TOURON
The Late Eighteenth Century: a Profusion of Treatises. The Work of the Author, the Creation of the Actor. Performing the Part. Study, Observation and Imitation. The Function of Sentiment. Engel’s Treatise. Boswell and the Levels of Interiority. Touron. Epilogue.

انشغل العرب المحدثون على مدار ما يقرب من قرن من الزمان بدراسة الأثر اليوناني والروماني في البلاغة العربية. وتبنت بعض هذه الدراسات موقفين متطرفين؛ يذهب أولهما إلى تبعية البلاغة العربية للبلاغة اليونانية، في حين ينفي الطرف الآخر وجود أي تأثير للبلاغة اليونانية في المنجز البلاغي العربي. وما بين التبعية والنفي قُدمت وجهات نظر أخرى عديدة تميل إلى هذا الطرف أو ذاك . مهما يكن من أمر، فإن معظم هذه الدراسات تركز على بحث الأثر الأرسطي في البلاغة العربية، إلى حدّ يكاد يختزل الأثر الهلليني بأكمله في الأثر الأرسطي. ويحتاج هذا الأمر إلى مراجعة فاحصة تكون غايتها دراسة التلقي العربي لكتابات بلاغية لفلاسفة آخرين، وفحص مدى تأثيرها في التراث البلاغي العربي. ويسعى هذا المقال لسد فجوة في الدراسات الراهنة عن الأثر اليوناني في البلاغة العربية، إذ إنه يُعالج موضوعًا غير مطروق من قبل، هو حدود التأثير الذي تركته أعمال أفلاطون في البلاغة العربية منذ الجاحظ حتى الوقت الراهن.

This article exploits the developing political science literature on rhetorical political analysis (RPA) and applies it to one of the most controversial speeches of the post-war era in British politics. Alongside an analysis of the roots and impact of Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech the article deconstructs Powell's rhetoric and oratory. In doing so the article moves beyond the traditional modes of analysing the speech, which focus on the reproduction of ‘new racisms’ and which are prevalent within the sociological and social psychology academic literature. By using RPA the paper considers the speech through the use of the rhetorical techniques of persuasion i. appeals to ethos – i.e., the persona of the speaker; ii. pathos - i.e. the range of emotions evoked; iii. or logos – i.e. the evidence that supports the arguments underpinning the speech. This type of analysis showcases how and why Powell’s speech made such an impact when just as inflammatory comments had been uttered by other Conservatives prior to 1968.

En la Antigua Roma, la enseñanza desempeñaba un papel fundamental en la formación de los jóvenes romanos. En el presente trabajo se analiza la estructura y los programas educativos de la enseñanza romana en sus tres niveles: el primario, el secundario y el superior; prestando especial atención en descubrir el método de enseñanza de la historia, la cual tendrá un papel vital en este proceso educativo con especial peso en la enseñanza secundaria y superior, concretamente en la escuela del rethor. Del mismo modo, se señalarán los distintos ejercicios realizados por los alumnos que suponían tratar, de forma directa o indirecta, narraciones y personajes históricos, profundizando en las denominadas “declamaciones de termas históricos”. Además, se abordarán las fuentes clásicas de distintos autores considerados historiadores, tales como Cicerón, Julio César, Salustio y Tito Livio.

El domingo 20 de noviembre de 2011 señalaría un antes y un después en
la dirección política de España por aquel entonces aún impredecible. Un
penúltimo domingo de otoño marcó la elección del Partido Popular como la
última que se disputarían Partido Popular y Partido Socialista Obrero Español bajo la denominación de ‘bipartidismo’ o como ya entonces muchos
acuñaban ‘PPSOE’.
Quizá no fuera esa, sino el 25 de mayo de 2014, con motivo de las elecciones al Parlamento Europeo la fecha en la que el sistema bipartidista, vigente desde 1982, se resquebrajó.
En tal contexto, nuevos conjuntos políticos irrumpen en escena, bajo el
pretexto de buscar “el empoderamiento de la gente para que no robasen la
democracia” (Iglesias, 2014). Partidos emergentes como Ciudadanos y sus lí-
deres, pero más concretamente Podemos, es decir, Pablo Iglesias —objeto de
este estudio—, son los encargados de capitanear el ‘cambio’ a través del arma
más importante: una nueva retórica.

Plato made some of the most significant contributions to the field of communication today, whether we can attribute a theory to him or not.  Through his writings, he has caused centuries of academic debate in the fields of philosophy, communication, and sociology. The purpose of this document is to give the reader a condensed version of the history of his life, his teachings, and his contributions to the field of communication today.

Dal professionista al docente, dal giornalista allo scrittore, dal politico al copywriter: ogni giorno ciascuno di noi usa la retorica. Dall’ossimoro alla sineddoche, dall’enfasi all’anafora, il linguaggio scritto e parlato è ricco di figure e schemi retorici, realizzati per lo più inconsapevolmente, spesso non correttamente e quasi sempre non sfruttandone le potenzialità. Per essere degli oratori capaci, oggi, non basta citare Cicerone e Quintiliano: bisogna conoscere le loro tecniche e adattarle alle esigenze della comunicazione moderna. Per costruire discorsi seducenti ed essere persuasivi.

Il volume intende dunque rappresentare un pratico sussidio che consenta di conoscere la retorica, finalizzandola alle esigenze dell’oratore contemporaneo con esempi concreti che vanno dal letterario al giudiziario e alla musica. Si compone di due sezioni: un elenco delle voci retoriche (con elementi di linguistica, fonetica, stilistica e narratologia) e un repertorio degli obiettivi dell’oratore (con schemi e figure retoriche ordinate e classificate in modo da facilitare la consultazione).

The legal profession and oratory have always been inextricably linked. The Napoleonic ruling class was firmly convinced of this when they opened the Scuola di eloquenza pratica legale (a school of oratory for the legal profession), which was soon closed by the Austrian government in 1817. Oratory came back in vogue during the liberal age, as evidenced in the numerous legal galatei (something like codes of conduct for the legal profession) that appeared in that period. Indeed, although the galatei used different approaches and styles, they always recommended that lawyers take care of their oral skills. Despite the trend towards more concise and linear forms of oratory during the Fascist period, the heart of the twentieth century still saw lawyers using and abusing their skill as orators—indeed, it was a formidable tool, capable of manipulating legal reasoning and ensuring a victorious outcome in trial.

Oratory and rhetoric are the most appropriate fields to test the lexical specialization of the verbs declamo and recito: declamo describes preparatory exercises of oratory itself; on the opposite hand, recito is referred to the reading of speeches, which are definitely fixed in a written version. Indeed recito always presupposes the presence of a written text. The exam of the occurrences of the phrase orationem (et sim.) recitare provides a sample not only of the evolution of the meaning of such verb but also of the changes that oratory underwent.

Volume 4 of the Orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius II contains seven orations from the three year period 1450-1452. Six are orations held in his capacity of imperial ambassador, one to King Alfonso V, three to Pope Nicolaus V, one to a Bohemian diet, and one to the ambassadors of Duke Philippe III of Burgundy. The seventh is a long defense of pope’s monitorium against the Austrian rebels against the emperor, probably never held.

This paper aims at identifying the persuasive strategies that religious orators use to persuade their audience and win huge following. Language is not an innocent and objective tool for communicating meaning. Language is also used for persuading, dissuading, manipulating others, and forming various ideologies of power and politics.  Various users of language, such as, politicians, advocates, business professionals, and religious preachers, gain immense power, influence and wealth by using language strategically. Religious oratory of the orators like Ashram and such other godmen as Nirmal Baba, Baba Jaigurudev, Shri Ravishankar, etc.,  in India have been found capable of winning a huge number of followers, who do not hesitate in accepting these religious orators as incarnation of God. The power of these orators lies not only in forging acceptable religious ideologies but also in strategic use of paralinguistic strategies such as pitch, pause, and pace in their oratory. In addition to this, like politicians, they use certain sociodrama to attract and grasp public attention.

لقد اقتصر التأريخ للخطابة عادة على مجرد التأريخ لحياة الخطباء وخطبهم؛ لكننا ندرك أن تاريخ الخطابة أكبر وأشمل من ذلك بكثير. فتاريخ الخطابة هو تاريخ الجمهور الذي يتلقى الخطب والمجتمعات التي يتم فيها إنتاجها وإلقاؤها وتلقيها، وتاريخ كُتَّاب الخطب الذين يسطرونها، وأخيرًا تاريخ الخطباء الذين يُلقونها. هذا الإدراك للأوجه المختلفة لتاريخ الخطابة هو ما سوف يوجِّه خطة هذا الكتاب.
يقدم الفصل الأول من الكتاب تأريخًا موجزًا للخطابة السياسية في مصر في القرن العشرين وأوائل القرن الحادي العشرين؛ يستعرض خصائص الخطابة في العصرين الملكي والجمهوري ويقارن بينهما؛ مركزًا على أثر تغير نوعية جمهور الخطب السياسية، وتغير الوسائط التي يتم نقل الخطب بواسطتها في تغير الخطابة السياسية. ثمَّ يوضح العلاقة بين الخطابة والحياة السياسية والاجتماعية في مصر على نحو عام، والعلاقة بين الحراك السياسي وازدهار الخطابة السياسية على نحو خاص. وفي سياق ذلك تُصاغ بشكل موجز بعض الملامح المميزة للأسلوب الخطابي لأهم الخطباء المصريين في العصر الحديث.
يدرس الفصل الثاني استجابات الجمهور في واحدة من أشهر الخطب في القرن الحادي والعشرين، هي الخطبة التي ألقاها الرئيس الأمريكي باراك أوباما للعالم الإسلامي، واختار جامعة القاهرة منبرًا لها. وأركز في هذا الفصل على التعليقات المكتوبة التي سجلتها شريحة من المستمعين للخطبة عبر الإنترنت. وأستخدم في هذا التحليل إجراءات تحليل وأفكار مستمدة من بلاغة الجمهور.
يختص الفصل الثالث بدراسة عملية تأليف الخطب السياسية، وهي ظاهرة لم تنل ما تستحقه من الدراسة والاهتمام حتى الآن. يكشف الفصل عن الدور الذي قام به كُتَّاب الخطب التي ألقاها عبد الناصر والسادات ومبارك في صياغة شكل الحكم والسياسة المصرية على مدار ستين عامًا. كما تُدرس أشكال الخلاف الذي كان يظهر أثناء عملية الكتابة بين كُتَّاب الخطب والحكام؛ وكيفية التعامل معه، وتأثيره على الخطابة السياسية في ذلك العصر. ويتضمن  الكتاب إضافة إلى قائمة المصادر والمراجع ملحقًا يحتوي مختارات مكتوبة من خطب بعض أهم السياسيين المصريين، ومقتطفات من أهم الخطب التي دُرست فيه.

Reclaims public speaking as a central cultural form of the nineteenth century

Places famous speeches by Emmeline Pankhurst, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde alongside previously unpublished texts
Offers a more racially, ethnically and politically varied range of speeches than ever collected before
Includes illustrations and suggestions for further readings
A ‘how to use this book’ section provides historical contextualisations and valuable guidance for steering classroom discussions
This pioneering collection brings alive the world of public speaking between the American Revolution and the age of the Suffragettes. It presents over seventy speeches by a diverse range of female and male activists, politicians, tribal leaders, fugitive slaves and preachers from both sides of the Atlantic, debating the crucial issues of the day, from socialism and imperialism to slavery and women’s suffrage. Complete with detailed notes, introductions, illustrations and suggestions for further reading, it provides a unique introduction to transatlantic history and culture.

Speaking in public often is considered to be one of the worst fears people have. Impromptu speaking, where you have little time to prepare, is even more frightening for many people. Here is a summary of advice and insights from several sources to help you to quickly develop and deliver an effective and entertaining impromptu speech.

Il 1527 è l’anno di svolta della parabola biografica del Guicciardini. Il terribile sacco di Roma del sei maggio estingue ogni tentativo volto a salvaguardare l’autonomia degli Stati italiani. A questa cocente disfatta si aggiunge poi la rabbia dei fiorentini nei confronti dell’ex luogotenente, il quale, sospetto e malvisto, viene inizialmente messo ai margini della neonata Repubblica. Alla luce di tutte queste delusioni, che mettono in discussione il significato stesso di un’intera carriera — se non addirittura di un’intera esistenza — lo sguardo introspettivo del Guicciardini si acuisce esponenzialmente, complice anche la lugubre residenza di Finocchieto. Questi pochi mesi segneranno una svolta irreversibile nei modelli scelti dall’autore per biografarsi. Dopo aver inizialmente ripreso il proprio libro di famiglia, lo scrittore fiorentino sentirà infatti il bisogno di affidarsi a forme nuove per sondare la propria interiorità e meditare sui passaggi fondamentali della propria esperienza.

L’année 1527 constitue certainement le tournant le plus douloureux dans la biographie de Francesco Guicciardini. Après le sac de Rome du 6 mai, l’ex lieutenant rentre à Florence, sa ville natale. Là-bas, il est fortement critiqué par ses concitoyens sur sa conduite pendant la guerre et il est mis en marge du nouveau gouvernement. À la lumière de toutes ces déceptions, la façon de Guicciardini d’écrire sur soi-même — un auteur qui pendant sa vie ne cesse jamais de se raconter — change radicalement. Après avoir inauguré un nouveau livre de famille, il choisit d’abandonner ce modèle et de développer son dialogue intérieur à travers des formes nouvelles pour lui. En voyant l’impossibilité d’adapter une expérience toute différente des choses à la narration autobiographique de type marchand, l’écrivain décide d’utiliser de modèles différents, fonctionnels à ses nouveaux besoins.

Guicciardini’s career has a turning point in 1527. After Sack of Rome on May 6th and League’s defeat, he returns in Florence. There, his fellow citizens strongly criticize his behavior during the war and put him on the fringe of the new government. Due to all these disappointments, Guicciardini’s way of writing about himself changes considerably: he gives up his libro di famiglia and decides to use different writing models of the Self.

Volume 3 of the Orations of Enea Silvio Piccolomini / Pope Pius II contains eight orations from the five year period 1445 - 1449. One is a sermon to his parishioners in Aspach (probably never held), two are academic lectures given at the University of Vienna in 1445, and six are ambassadorial orations on behalf of Emperor Friedrich III, of which four were addressed to Pope Eugenius IV and one to the people of Milan (1447).