What is Dramatic Recitation?

Bexley, E.M.

doi:10.1163/1568525x-12341693

What is Dramatic Recitation?

Bexley, E.M.

Authors

Dr Erica Bexley erica.m.bexley@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

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