Christopher B. Balme
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198184447
- eISBN:
- 9780191674266
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198184447.003.0005
- Subject:
- Literature, Drama
This chapter discusses the deviation from dramatic dialogue in post-colonial theatre. There are numerous occasions where dialogue is replaced by other modes of linguistic communication. The most ...
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This chapter discusses the deviation from dramatic dialogue in post-colonial theatre. There are numerous occasions where dialogue is replaced by other modes of linguistic communication. The most important of these deviations is oral performance. Various forms of lyric-musical songs or verse are usually integrated into oral performances, where dramatists make use of the song or poetry as a way of approximating the structural features and functions of indigenous cultural texts. Another deviation from dramatic dialogue is the use of paralinguistic signs in the form of recognizable culturally specific vocalizations.Less
This chapter discusses the deviation from dramatic dialogue in post-colonial theatre. There are numerous occasions where dialogue is replaced by other modes of linguistic communication. The most important of these deviations is oral performance. Various forms of lyric-musical songs or verse are usually integrated into oral performances, where dramatists make use of the song or poetry as a way of approximating the structural features and functions of indigenous cultural texts. Another deviation from dramatic dialogue is the use of paralinguistic signs in the form of recognizable culturally specific vocalizations.
Michael Caesar and Nick Havely
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199584628
- eISBN:
- 9780191739095
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199584628.003.0007
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature, Poetry
This chapter attempts to reconstruct, as far as possible, the dantate performed in London and in Italy by the celebrated actor and patriot, Gustavo Modena. These were a distinctive form of ...
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This chapter attempts to reconstruct, as far as possible, the dantate performed in London and in Italy by the celebrated actor and patriot, Gustavo Modena. These were a distinctive form of declamation of passages from the Divine Comedy which met with considerable acclaim between the 1830s and the 1850s, and enjoyed a long afterlife in the memory of witnesses and fellow professionals for at least half a century after Modena's death in 1861. The chapter contributes to the study of Dante in the nineteenth century by exploring the possibilities and limitations of oral performance of the text at a time when Dante was rapidly filling the role of national poet amidst the heightened political tensions of the Risorgimento. The concluding sections place Modena's further reflections on and performance of Dante in the context of his growing disillusionment with the likely and actual outcomes of the struggle for nationhood.Less
This chapter attempts to reconstruct, as far as possible, the dantate performed in London and in Italy by the celebrated actor and patriot, Gustavo Modena. These were a distinctive form of declamation of passages from the Divine Comedy which met with considerable acclaim between the 1830s and the 1850s, and enjoyed a long afterlife in the memory of witnesses and fellow professionals for at least half a century after Modena's death in 1861. The chapter contributes to the study of Dante in the nineteenth century by exploring the possibilities and limitations of oral performance of the text at a time when Dante was rapidly filling the role of national poet amidst the heightened political tensions of the Risorgimento. The concluding sections place Modena's further reflections on and performance of Dante in the context of his growing disillusionment with the likely and actual outcomes of the struggle for nationhood.
Lene Rubinstein
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199654314
- eISBN:
- 9780191751370
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654314.003.0009
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter examines the epigraphic evidence for oral performances by envoys on diplomatic missions. It begins by considering two kinds of inscriptions: firstly, inscriptions recording speeches ...
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This chapter examines the epigraphic evidence for oral performances by envoys on diplomatic missions. It begins by considering two kinds of inscriptions: firstly, inscriptions recording speeches which delimit the oratorical task set before the ambassadors and the boundaries of their diplomatic brief; and, secondly, inscriptions recording the response to the oral performance by the ambassadors of the community they visited. The fact that we can even detect differences between the two documents in terms of their contents brings up a number of methodological considerations about the real nature of the ambassadors' oratorical performances and their actual effect on the outcome of the embassy. The chapter proceeds to ask a number of questions: was the ambassadors' oratorical potential was limited by the constraints of their official brief? If so, was their role little more than decorative? Was an oratorical performance by the envoys indispensable to the success of the embassy's mission? The evidence for oratorical performances by teams of envoys may point to the dangers they encountered in their diplomatic missions, and may thus reflect a desire to spread the risk among a greater number of individuals. The chapter concludes that the ambassadors' oral performances were paramount to the establishment and perpetuation of a reciprocal relationship of gratitude between two communities. Thus, the rhetorical strategies adopted by the ambassadors in such oratorical performances were of crucial importance.Less
This chapter examines the epigraphic evidence for oral performances by envoys on diplomatic missions. It begins by considering two kinds of inscriptions: firstly, inscriptions recording speeches which delimit the oratorical task set before the ambassadors and the boundaries of their diplomatic brief; and, secondly, inscriptions recording the response to the oral performance by the ambassadors of the community they visited. The fact that we can even detect differences between the two documents in terms of their contents brings up a number of methodological considerations about the real nature of the ambassadors' oratorical performances and their actual effect on the outcome of the embassy. The chapter proceeds to ask a number of questions: was the ambassadors' oratorical potential was limited by the constraints of their official brief? If so, was their role little more than decorative? Was an oratorical performance by the envoys indispensable to the success of the embassy's mission? The evidence for oratorical performances by teams of envoys may point to the dangers they encountered in their diplomatic missions, and may thus reflect a desire to spread the risk among a greater number of individuals. The chapter concludes that the ambassadors' oral performances were paramount to the establishment and perpetuation of a reciprocal relationship of gratitude between two communities. Thus, the rhetorical strategies adopted by the ambassadors in such oratorical performances were of crucial importance.
Arnold Krupat
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801451386
- eISBN:
- 9780801465857
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801451386.003.0002
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Native American Studies
This chapter examines a variety of Native American oral performances, beginning with the Condolence Rites of the Iroquois. The Rites of Condolence, performed upon the death of one of the fifty chiefs ...
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This chapter examines a variety of Native American oral performances, beginning with the Condolence Rites of the Iroquois. The Rites of Condolence, performed upon the death of one of the fifty chiefs of the Iroquois League, include chants rehearsing the history of the League and conclude with the appointment of a replacement for the deceased chief. The chapter also considers the Tlingit koo.'eex' and goes on to discuss a number of more informal, occasional oral performances responding to loss, from several different Native nations. Finally, it explores songs of the religious resistance movement known as the Ghost Dance. The Ghost Dance songs constitute the first major genre of oral, elegiac expression in response to exile, but also serve as symbolic attempts at restoration.Less
This chapter examines a variety of Native American oral performances, beginning with the Condolence Rites of the Iroquois. The Rites of Condolence, performed upon the death of one of the fifty chiefs of the Iroquois League, include chants rehearsing the history of the League and conclude with the appointment of a replacement for the deceased chief. The chapter also considers the Tlingit koo.'eex' and goes on to discuss a number of more informal, occasional oral performances responding to loss, from several different Native nations. Finally, it explores songs of the religious resistance movement known as the Ghost Dance. The Ghost Dance songs constitute the first major genre of oral, elegiac expression in response to exile, but also serve as symbolic attempts at restoration.
Anthony Welch
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300178869
- eISBN:
- 9780300188998
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300178869.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
This introductory chapter sets out the book's purpose, which is to explore two tightly interwoven aspects of the Renaissance epic tradition: its changing relationship with antiquity and its complex ...
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This introductory chapter sets out the book's purpose, which is to explore two tightly interwoven aspects of the Renaissance epic tradition: its changing relationship with antiquity and its complex attitudes toward oral performance. This book seeks to show that a key transition in literate Europe's perception of oral culture took place in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: an emerging view of orality not simply as a fact of daily social life but as the lost and mysterious preserve of human societies far remote in space and time. It also shows how epic poets from Tasso to Milton constructed models of the past that are characterized by song and oral performance, and how, in turn, those models forced them to reassess their own art and vocation.Less
This introductory chapter sets out the book's purpose, which is to explore two tightly interwoven aspects of the Renaissance epic tradition: its changing relationship with antiquity and its complex attitudes toward oral performance. This book seeks to show that a key transition in literate Europe's perception of oral culture took place in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: an emerging view of orality not simply as a fact of daily social life but as the lost and mysterious preserve of human societies far remote in space and time. It also shows how epic poets from Tasso to Milton constructed models of the past that are characterized by song and oral performance, and how, in turn, those models forced them to reassess their own art and vocation.
McComas Taylor
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190611910
- eISBN:
- 9780190611934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190611910.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
The binding metaphor for this book is yajña, the ancient Vedic ritual of sacrifice. The preliminary act of that event was called kṣetropadhāna, the measuring of the field. This introductory chapter ...
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The binding metaphor for this book is yajña, the ancient Vedic ritual of sacrifice. The preliminary act of that event was called kṣetropadhāna, the measuring of the field. This introductory chapter measures out the field for the remainder of the book, setting the boundaries and laying the groundwork. It begins by introducing the genre of mythological texts known as the purāṇas. This is followed by a brief description of the Bhāgavatapurāṇa itself, which is the main source of narratives for these week-long performances. Next, the concept of the seven-day performance is introduced, with a description of an idealized saptāha probably dating from the early eighteenth century. This is followed by an outline of contemporary practice and an overview of scholarly writing on the subject. The chapter then describes how the Bhāgavata-saptāha fits in with other forms of oral performance of sacred texts in India. It concludes with a rationale for the work as a whole, an outline of the theoretical framework, and an overview of the contents of the following chapters.Less
The binding metaphor for this book is yajña, the ancient Vedic ritual of sacrifice. The preliminary act of that event was called kṣetropadhāna, the measuring of the field. This introductory chapter measures out the field for the remainder of the book, setting the boundaries and laying the groundwork. It begins by introducing the genre of mythological texts known as the purāṇas. This is followed by a brief description of the Bhāgavatapurāṇa itself, which is the main source of narratives for these week-long performances. Next, the concept of the seven-day performance is introduced, with a description of an idealized saptāha probably dating from the early eighteenth century. This is followed by an outline of contemporary practice and an overview of scholarly writing on the subject. The chapter then describes how the Bhāgavata-saptāha fits in with other forms of oral performance of sacred texts in India. It concludes with a rationale for the work as a whole, an outline of the theoretical framework, and an overview of the contents of the following chapters.
Andrew Ford
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199733293
- eISBN:
- 9780199918539
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199733293.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
This Chapter compares another pair of representations of Hermias, two epigrams in elegiacs. An epigram Aristotle is said to have composed for a memorial at Delphi is read against the mocking response ...
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This Chapter compares another pair of representations of Hermias, two epigrams in elegiacs. An epigram Aristotle is said to have composed for a memorial at Delphi is read against the mocking response to this verse by Theocritus of Chios and the different social functions of elegiacs as opposed to lyric verse are introduced. It emerges that Aristotle’s poetry for his friend necessarily took on a polemical, even propagandistic aspect. The genre of epigram also raises possibility that the occasion projected by a poem for its ostensible performance may be fictive, as in the case of “book epigrams.” Although it declares itself a poem inscribed on stone, Aristotle’s Delphic epigram shows a rhetorical subtlety that suggests that he, like Theocritus, may have anticipated the Hellenistic tradition of literary epigrams.Less
This Chapter compares another pair of representations of Hermias, two epigrams in elegiacs. An epigram Aristotle is said to have composed for a memorial at Delphi is read against the mocking response to this verse by Theocritus of Chios and the different social functions of elegiacs as opposed to lyric verse are introduced. It emerges that Aristotle’s poetry for his friend necessarily took on a polemical, even propagandistic aspect. The genre of epigram also raises possibility that the occasion projected by a poem for its ostensible performance may be fictive, as in the case of “book epigrams.” Although it declares itself a poem inscribed on stone, Aristotle’s Delphic epigram shows a rhetorical subtlety that suggests that he, like Theocritus, may have anticipated the Hellenistic tradition of literary epigrams.
Arnold Krupat
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801451386
- eISBN:
- 9780801465857
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801451386.003.0003
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Native American Studies
This chapter examines oral performances of the Indian “farewell” speech. Indian farewells have been printed at least since the seventeenth century, when Christian ministers recorded (or perhaps ...
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This chapter examines oral performances of the Indian “farewell” speech. Indian farewells have been printed at least since the seventeenth century, when Christian ministers recorded (or perhaps sometimes wrote) the pious deathbed speeches of their Indian converts. From the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century, however, the speeches of greatest interest to the American public were those attributed to prominent Indian leaders who had—with the exception of Chief Sealth—resisted the whites militarily. Indeed, the farewell speeches attributed to Chief Sealth and Chief Joseph continue to be celebrated today. This chapter discusses the farewell speeches delivered by the Mingo chief Logan, Black Hawk, the Apache leader Cochise, Chief Joseph, and Chief Sealth. The speeches made by Black Hawk and Chief Joseph are considered surrender speeches.Less
This chapter examines oral performances of the Indian “farewell” speech. Indian farewells have been printed at least since the seventeenth century, when Christian ministers recorded (or perhaps sometimes wrote) the pious deathbed speeches of their Indian converts. From the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century, however, the speeches of greatest interest to the American public were those attributed to prominent Indian leaders who had—with the exception of Chief Sealth—resisted the whites militarily. Indeed, the farewell speeches attributed to Chief Sealth and Chief Joseph continue to be celebrated today. This chapter discusses the farewell speeches delivered by the Mingo chief Logan, Black Hawk, the Apache leader Cochise, Chief Joseph, and Chief Sealth. The speeches made by Black Hawk and Chief Joseph are considered surrender speeches.
Michael A. Uzendoski and Edith Felicia Calapucha-Tapuy
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252036569
- eISBN:
- 9780252093609
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252036569.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Latin American Cultural Anthropology
This book offers the first theoretical and experiential translation of Napo Runa mythology in English. It presents and analyzes lowland Quichua speakers in the Napo province of Ecuador through ...
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This book offers the first theoretical and experiential translation of Napo Runa mythology in English. It presents and analyzes lowland Quichua speakers in the Napo province of Ecuador through narratives, songs, curing chants, and other oral performances, so readers may come to understand and appreciate Quichua aesthetic expression. Like many other indigenous peoples, the Napo Runa create meaning through language and other practices that do not correspond to the communicative or social assumptions of Western culture. Language itself is only a part of a communicative world that includes plants, animals, and the landscape. In the Napo Runa worldview, storytellers are shamans who use sound and form to create relationships with other people and beings from the natural and spirit worlds. Guiding readers into Quichua ways of thinking and being—in which language itself is only a part of a communicative world that includes plants, animals, and the landscape—the book weaves exacting translations into an interpretive argument with theoretical implications for understanding oral traditions, literacy, new technologies, and language.Less
This book offers the first theoretical and experiential translation of Napo Runa mythology in English. It presents and analyzes lowland Quichua speakers in the Napo province of Ecuador through narratives, songs, curing chants, and other oral performances, so readers may come to understand and appreciate Quichua aesthetic expression. Like many other indigenous peoples, the Napo Runa create meaning through language and other practices that do not correspond to the communicative or social assumptions of Western culture. Language itself is only a part of a communicative world that includes plants, animals, and the landscape. In the Napo Runa worldview, storytellers are shamans who use sound and form to create relationships with other people and beings from the natural and spirit worlds. Guiding readers into Quichua ways of thinking and being—in which language itself is only a part of a communicative world that includes plants, animals, and the landscape—the book weaves exacting translations into an interpretive argument with theoretical implications for understanding oral traditions, literacy, new technologies, and language.
Simon Goldhill
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- April 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199793983
- eISBN:
- 9780190261283
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199793983.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter focuses on literary culture. It explores the sudden popularity of “anecdote” in the Second Sophistic and how literate practices can be situated in oral performance in distinct social ...
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This chapter focuses on literary culture. It explores the sudden popularity of “anecdote” in the Second Sophistic and how literate practices can be situated in oral performance in distinct social settings. The anecdote as a written form is seen as symbolic of the literary culture during the Second Sophistic, a characteristic packaging of material that is best understood in relation to actual oral practices among the literary elite. As an oral form that can be written down, memorized, and recirculated orally, the anecdote became a normative means whereby bookish, highly educated elites compete in the symposium and other contexts.Less
This chapter focuses on literary culture. It explores the sudden popularity of “anecdote” in the Second Sophistic and how literate practices can be situated in oral performance in distinct social settings. The anecdote as a written form is seen as symbolic of the literary culture during the Second Sophistic, a characteristic packaging of material that is best understood in relation to actual oral practices among the literary elite. As an oral form that can be written down, memorized, and recirculated orally, the anecdote became a normative means whereby bookish, highly educated elites compete in the symposium and other contexts.
Sarah M. Strong
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824835125
- eISBN:
- 9780824870331
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824835125.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
Indigenous peoples throughout the globe are custodians of a unique, priceless, and increasingly imperiled legacy of oral lore. Among them the Ainu, a people native to northeastern Asia, stand out for ...
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Indigenous peoples throughout the globe are custodians of a unique, priceless, and increasingly imperiled legacy of oral lore. Among them the Ainu, a people native to northeastern Asia, stand out for the exceptional scope and richness of their oral performance traditions. This book provides a study and English translation of Chiri Yukie's Ainu Shin'yoshu, the first written transcription of Ainu oral narratives by an ethnic Ainu. The thirteen narratives in Chiri's collection belong to the genre known as kamuiyukar, said to be the most ancient performance form in the vast Ainu repertoire. In it, animals (and sometimes plants or other natural phenomena) assume the role of narrator and tell stories about themselves. Along with critical contextual information about traditional Ainu society and its cultural assumptions, the book brings forward pertinent information on the geography and natural history of the coastal southwestern Hokkaido region where the stories were originally performed. It also offers the first extended biography of Chiri Yukie (1903–1922) in English. The story of her life, and her untimely death at age nineteen, makes clear the harsh consequences for Chiri and her fellow Ainu of the Japanese colonization of Hokkaido and the Meiji and Taisho governments' policies of assimilation. Chiri's receipt of the narratives in the Horobetsu dialect from her grandmother and aunt (both traditional performers) and the fact that no native speakers of that dialect survive today make her work all the more significant. The book concludes with a full, integral translation of the text.Less
Indigenous peoples throughout the globe are custodians of a unique, priceless, and increasingly imperiled legacy of oral lore. Among them the Ainu, a people native to northeastern Asia, stand out for the exceptional scope and richness of their oral performance traditions. This book provides a study and English translation of Chiri Yukie's Ainu Shin'yoshu, the first written transcription of Ainu oral narratives by an ethnic Ainu. The thirteen narratives in Chiri's collection belong to the genre known as kamuiyukar, said to be the most ancient performance form in the vast Ainu repertoire. In it, animals (and sometimes plants or other natural phenomena) assume the role of narrator and tell stories about themselves. Along with critical contextual information about traditional Ainu society and its cultural assumptions, the book brings forward pertinent information on the geography and natural history of the coastal southwestern Hokkaido region where the stories were originally performed. It also offers the first extended biography of Chiri Yukie (1903–1922) in English. The story of her life, and her untimely death at age nineteen, makes clear the harsh consequences for Chiri and her fellow Ainu of the Japanese colonization of Hokkaido and the Meiji and Taisho governments' policies of assimilation. Chiri's receipt of the narratives in the Horobetsu dialect from her grandmother and aunt (both traditional performers) and the fact that no native speakers of that dialect survive today make her work all the more significant. The book concludes with a full, integral translation of the text.
Emily Greenwood
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- December 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198804215
- eISBN:
- 9780191842412
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198804215.003.0019
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Plays and Playwrights: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter analyses the conceit of the poet as (Homeric) bard in the work of the contemporary British poets Simon Armitage and Alice Oswald. In both poets, the figure of the bard conjures up the ...
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This chapter analyses the conceit of the poet as (Homeric) bard in the work of the contemporary British poets Simon Armitage and Alice Oswald. In both poets, the figure of the bard conjures up the immanence of live performance and raises both historical questions about the remainder of orality in contemporary adaptations of Homer and questions of vocality as these poems circulate across different media: live performances, poetry readings, audiobooks, multimedia recordings, and printed books. The Homeric bard furnishes a trope for thinking about the presence and absence of the poet’s voice in contemporary responses to the Homeric epics, as well as the significance of orality for conveying the immersive experience which lies at the heart of our imagined traffic with classical antiquity.Less
This chapter analyses the conceit of the poet as (Homeric) bard in the work of the contemporary British poets Simon Armitage and Alice Oswald. In both poets, the figure of the bard conjures up the immanence of live performance and raises both historical questions about the remainder of orality in contemporary adaptations of Homer and questions of vocality as these poems circulate across different media: live performances, poetry readings, audiobooks, multimedia recordings, and printed books. The Homeric bard furnishes a trope for thinking about the presence and absence of the poet’s voice in contemporary responses to the Homeric epics, as well as the significance of orality for conveying the immersive experience which lies at the heart of our imagined traffic with classical antiquity.
Alessandro Vatri
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198795902
- eISBN:
- 9780191837081
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198795902.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Is there a linguistic difference between classical Greek prose texts meant for oral delivery in public and those meant for written circulation and private reception? This difficult question is ...
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Is there a linguistic difference between classical Greek prose texts meant for oral delivery in public and those meant for written circulation and private reception? This difficult question is recurrently raised by literary scholars and cultural historians of the ancient world, and this book discusses first of all its legitimacy by defining what such slippery notions as ‘orality’ and ‘oral performance’ mean in the context of classical Athens, by reconstructing the situations in which the extant prose texts were meant to be received, and by explaining on which grounds we may expect linguistic features of the texts to be related to such situations. Cultural-historical and anthropological facts substantiate the idea that texts conceived for public delivery needed to be as clear as possible, but do not imply that the opposite was required of texts conceived for private reception. Clarity is a slippery notion and has often been assessed impressionistically by modern scholars. Based on the available evidence on the perception of linguistic difficulty for native speakers of Classical Greek, this book attempts to establish a rigorous method for the reconstruction of native perception of clarity in the original contexts of textual reception. For this purpose, this study builds on the theoretical insights and current experimental findings of modern psycholinguistics. The analysis of a small corpus of samples of Attic speeches suggests that no significant difference in oral comprehension difficulty existed between Attic prose texts, while certain texts appear to have been significantly harder to understand than others in reading.Less
Is there a linguistic difference between classical Greek prose texts meant for oral delivery in public and those meant for written circulation and private reception? This difficult question is recurrently raised by literary scholars and cultural historians of the ancient world, and this book discusses first of all its legitimacy by defining what such slippery notions as ‘orality’ and ‘oral performance’ mean in the context of classical Athens, by reconstructing the situations in which the extant prose texts were meant to be received, and by explaining on which grounds we may expect linguistic features of the texts to be related to such situations. Cultural-historical and anthropological facts substantiate the idea that texts conceived for public delivery needed to be as clear as possible, but do not imply that the opposite was required of texts conceived for private reception. Clarity is a slippery notion and has often been assessed impressionistically by modern scholars. Based on the available evidence on the perception of linguistic difficulty for native speakers of Classical Greek, this book attempts to establish a rigorous method for the reconstruction of native perception of clarity in the original contexts of textual reception. For this purpose, this study builds on the theoretical insights and current experimental findings of modern psycholinguistics. The analysis of a small corpus of samples of Attic speeches suggests that no significant difference in oral comprehension difficulty existed between Attic prose texts, while certain texts appear to have been significantly harder to understand than others in reading.
Douglas Gray
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198706090
- eISBN:
- 9780191810480
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198706090.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature, Prose (inc. letters, diaries)
This chapter discusses folk literature and popular literature and their importance for the understanding of sophisticated medieval literary works. It contains a discussion of some problems and ...
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This chapter discusses folk literature and popular literature and their importance for the understanding of sophisticated medieval literary works. It contains a discussion of some problems and questions that reappear throughout this book. Popular literature and learned, or courtly, literature are not clearly distinct and opposed categories, but rather represent two poles on a continuous spectrum. There was continuous interaction between the two—and our knowledge of popular culture is mediated through the writings of the learned. This chapter discusses the relevance of this to questions of authorship (sometimes collaborative authorship), literacy, and oral performance, both in public and in private.Less
This chapter discusses folk literature and popular literature and their importance for the understanding of sophisticated medieval literary works. It contains a discussion of some problems and questions that reappear throughout this book. Popular literature and learned, or courtly, literature are not clearly distinct and opposed categories, but rather represent two poles on a continuous spectrum. There was continuous interaction between the two—and our knowledge of popular culture is mediated through the writings of the learned. This chapter discusses the relevance of this to questions of authorship (sometimes collaborative authorship), literacy, and oral performance, both in public and in private.
McComas Taylor
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190611910
- eISBN:
- 9780190611934
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190611910.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
The thousand-year-old Sanskrit classic the Bhāgavatapurāṇa, or “Stories of the Lord,” is the foundational source of narratives concerning the beloved Hindu deity Kṛṣṇa. For centuries, pious ...
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The thousand-year-old Sanskrit classic the Bhāgavatapurāṇa, or “Stories of the Lord,” is the foundational source of narratives concerning the beloved Hindu deity Kṛṣṇa. For centuries, pious individuals, families, and community groups have engaged specialist scholar-orators to give week-long oral performances based on this text. Seated on a dais in front of the audience, the orator intones selected Sanskrit verses from the Bhāgavatapurāṇa and narrates the story of Kṛṣṇa in the local language. These sacred performances bring blessings and good fortune to those who sponsor, perform, or attend them. Devotees hold that the narratives of Kṛṣṇa are like the nectar of immortality for those able to appreciate them. In recent years, these events have grown in number, scale, and popularity. Once confined to private homes or temple spaces, performances now fill vast public arenas such as sports stadiums and attract live audiences in the tens of thousands while being simulcast around the world. What has led to this explosion in the popularity of these events? What social and political factors are contributing to the growth of this religious practice? Using the ancient Vedic act of sacrifice as a uniting metaphor, Seven Days of Nectar is the first scholarly work to explore the Bhāgavatapurāṇa through the lens of performance theory, integrating the text, its narration, and the intersecting worlds of the sponsors, exponents, and audiences. This approach, which draws on close textual reading, philology, and ethnography, casts new light on how narratives are experienced as authentic and transformative and, more broadly, how texts shape societies.Less
The thousand-year-old Sanskrit classic the Bhāgavatapurāṇa, or “Stories of the Lord,” is the foundational source of narratives concerning the beloved Hindu deity Kṛṣṇa. For centuries, pious individuals, families, and community groups have engaged specialist scholar-orators to give week-long oral performances based on this text. Seated on a dais in front of the audience, the orator intones selected Sanskrit verses from the Bhāgavatapurāṇa and narrates the story of Kṛṣṇa in the local language. These sacred performances bring blessings and good fortune to those who sponsor, perform, or attend them. Devotees hold that the narratives of Kṛṣṇa are like the nectar of immortality for those able to appreciate them. In recent years, these events have grown in number, scale, and popularity. Once confined to private homes or temple spaces, performances now fill vast public arenas such as sports stadiums and attract live audiences in the tens of thousands while being simulcast around the world. What has led to this explosion in the popularity of these events? What social and political factors are contributing to the growth of this religious practice? Using the ancient Vedic act of sacrifice as a uniting metaphor, Seven Days of Nectar is the first scholarly work to explore the Bhāgavatapurāṇa through the lens of performance theory, integrating the text, its narration, and the intersecting worlds of the sponsors, exponents, and audiences. This approach, which draws on close textual reading, philology, and ethnography, casts new light on how narratives are experienced as authentic and transformative and, more broadly, how texts shape societies.
McComas Taylor
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190611910
- eISBN:
- 9780190611934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190611910.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
The saptāha is often referred to as a jñāna-yajña, a sacrifice in the form of knowledge. This chapter attempts to convey the look and feel of these “knowledge sacrifices,” contrasting the different ...
More
The saptāha is often referred to as a jñāna-yajña, a sacrifice in the form of knowledge. This chapter attempts to convey the look and feel of these “knowledge sacrifices,” contrasting the different settings and the manner in which the saptāha events are conducted. Of the dozen or so saptāha performances that were attended in full or in part in research for this book, three were selected to illustrate their great diversity, two from India and one from Australia. Each of the three has a contrasting emotional atmosphere, a different approach to the text, and a distinctive theological thrust. The first was held in Vrindavan, and important pilgrimage town 140 km south of Delhi. The exponent Mridul Krishna Shastri was descended from a long line of musicians, and was famous for the musicality and emotional intensity of his performances. The second event was held in a remote village in the Garhwal foothills of the Himalayas. The speaker was from the local area, but had trained in Vrindavan. As the personal guest of the sponsor, I had unique access to the day-to-day running of the event. The third saptāha was held in Canberra. This speaker was a charismatic younger man, now resident in Australia. His discourse was delivered in English to a mainly diasporic audience. This chapter provides in effect the context of the saptāha.Less
The saptāha is often referred to as a jñāna-yajña, a sacrifice in the form of knowledge. This chapter attempts to convey the look and feel of these “knowledge sacrifices,” contrasting the different settings and the manner in which the saptāha events are conducted. Of the dozen or so saptāha performances that were attended in full or in part in research for this book, three were selected to illustrate their great diversity, two from India and one from Australia. Each of the three has a contrasting emotional atmosphere, a different approach to the text, and a distinctive theological thrust. The first was held in Vrindavan, and important pilgrimage town 140 km south of Delhi. The exponent Mridul Krishna Shastri was descended from a long line of musicians, and was famous for the musicality and emotional intensity of his performances. The second event was held in a remote village in the Garhwal foothills of the Himalayas. The speaker was from the local area, but had trained in Vrindavan. As the personal guest of the sponsor, I had unique access to the day-to-day running of the event. The third saptāha was held in Canberra. This speaker was a charismatic younger man, now resident in Australia. His discourse was delivered in English to a mainly diasporic audience. This chapter provides in effect the context of the saptāha.
