A Companion to Roman Rhetoric

This authoritative Companion of specially commissioned studies, 31 scholars from nine countries have combined to produce a survey of Roman rhetoric that explores its wide–ranging cultural importance. The contributors include not only internationally recognized figures with established reputations in the field of Roman rhetoric but also emerging scholars with fresh perspectives on the discipline. Among the topics covered by A Companion to Roman Rhetoric are the evolution of Roman rhetoric from its origins to the Renaissance; rhetoric’s role in education and acculturation; the seminal importance of rhetoric in statesmanship and politics; the relationship between rhetoric and social identity; the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of rhetoric; the dynamics of rhetoric performance; and rhetoric’s interaction with the major genres and figures of Roman literature. This Companion will be valuable to a wide readership including undergraduates, graduate students, and scholars in Roman culture, as well as scholars in adjacent disciplines seeking an accessible introduction to Roman rhetoric. All Greek and Latin passages are translated. The volume complements A Companion to Greek Rhetoric published in the Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World series.

Notes on Contributors. Preface. Texts and Abbreviations. Part I: Approaching Rhetoric. 1. Confronting Roman Rhetoric ( William Dominik and Jon Hall ). 2. Modern Critical Approaches to Roman Rhetoric ( John Dugan ). 3. Greek Rhetoric Meets Rome: Expansion, Resistance, and Acculturation ( Sarah Culpepper Stroup ). 4. Native Roman Rhetoric: Plautus and Terence ( John Barsby ). 5. Roman Oratory Before Cicero: The Elder Cato and Gaius Gracchus ( Enrica Sciarrino ). Part II: Rhetoric and Its Social Context. 6. Rhetorical Education and Social Reproduction in the Republic and Early Empire ( Anthony Corbeill ). 7. Virile Tongues: Rhetoric and Masculinity ( Joy Connolly ). 8. Oratory, Rhetoric, and Politics in the Republic ( Michael C. Alexander ). 9. Oratory and Politics in the Empire ( Steven H. Rutledge ). 10. Roman Senatorial Oratory ( John Ramsey ). 11. Panegyric ( Roger Rees ). 12. Roman Oratorical Invective ( Valentina Arena ). Part III: Systematizing Rhetoric. 13. Roman Rhetorical Handbooks ( Robert N. Gaines ). 14. Elocutio: Latin Prose Style ( Roderich Kirchner ). 15. Memory and the Roman Orator ( Jocelyn Penny Small ). 16. Wit and Humor in Roman Rhetoric ( Edwin Rabbie ). 17. Oratorical Delivery and the Emotions: Theory and Practice ( Jon Hall ). Part IV: Rhetoricians and Orators. 18. Lost Orators of Rome ( Catherine Steel ). 19. Cicero as Rhetorician ( James M. May ). 20. Cicero as Orator ( Christopher P. Craig ). 21. Grammarians and Rhetoricians ( Charles McNelis ). 22. Roman Declamation: The Elder Seneca and Quintilian ( W. Martin Bloomer ). 23. Quintilian as Rhetorician and Teacher ( Jorge Fernández López ). 24. Tacitus and Pliny on Oratory ( William Dominik ). 25. Rhetoric and the Second Sophistic ( Graham Anderson ). 26. Roman Rhetoric and its Afterlife ( John O. Ward ). Part V: Rhetoric and Roman Literature. 27. Rhetoric and Literature at Rome ( Matthew Fox ). 28. Rhetoric and Epic: Vergil’s Aeneid and Lucan’s Bellum Civile ( Emanuele Narducci ). 29. Rhetoric and Satire: Horace, Persius, and Juvenal ( Dan Hooley ). 30. Rhetoric and Ovid ( Ulrike Auhagen ). 31. Rhetoric and the Younger Seneca ( Marcus Wilson ). 32. Rhetoric and Historiography ( Cynthia Damon ). Bibliography. Glossary of Technical Terms. Index Locorum. General Index.

William Dominik is Professor of Classics at the University of Otago. He is a contributor to A Companion to Ancient Epic (2005) and A Companion to the Classical Tradition (2006). He has also published numerous books, chapters, and articles on Roman literature and other topics. Jon Hall is Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of Otago. He is the author of numerous articles and chapters on Cicero’s oratory and rhetorical treatises. He has also completed a book on Cicero’s correspondence.

"Dominik and Hall have produced a solid, well–structured and accessible piece of work, which not only provides an excellent starting point to newcomers, but also contains a number of original contributions that will be of interest to more advanced scholars." ( Scholia Reviews , June 2010)