What is Dramatic Recitation?

Bexley, E.M.

Abstract

This article examines the literary evidence for recitations of drama in first- and early second-century C.E.Rome. It begins by contextualizing the practice of recitatio, and thereafter focuses on the central question of how a solo speaker could recite a play so as to render it intelligible for his audience. Two solutions suggested by extant sources are voice and gesture; it is possible that the individuals reciting plays either altered their intonation or inserted specific movements to signify a change of character. Although both of these solutions are tentative, they indicate nonetheless that dramatic recitation involved elements of performance.

Citation

Bexley, E. (2015). What is Dramatic Recitation?. Mnemosyne: A Journal of Classical Studies, 68(5), 774-793. https://doi.org/10.1163/1568525x-12341693

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Sep 14, 2015
• Publication Date: Sep 14, 2015
• Deposit Date: Sep 27, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 3, 2017
• Journal: Mnemosyne
• Print ISSN: 0026-7074
• Electronic ISSN: 1568-525X
• Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 68
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 774-793
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/1568525x-12341693