Problems in Latin Literature: Roman Republican Oratory in Context

This course offers a close reading of select Cicero speeches and rhetorical writings, as well as fragments of earlier republican orators (e.g. Cato the Elder, Gaius Gracchus). These speeches are considered in the context of their original delivery (in the senate, in a contio, in a lawcourt, at a funeral), in their physical and historical setting. Topics for discussion include: the role of speeches in Roman republican politics, audience composition and reactions, the development of Latin rhetoric, the relationship of set speeches to rumor and public opinion, and the variety of speakers (magistrates, foreigners, women) in Rome.