Actio (rhetoric)
Actio (Latin: 'action, deed, execution'; Greek: ὑπόκρισις hypókrisis ' pretense ') describes in the understanding of ancient and early modern theories of rhetoric the fifth and final stage of production of a speech and thus the actual oratory action. During antiquity , the term actio was used synonymously with that of pronuntiatio . Later, actio primarily refers to the area of physical presentation, facial expressions (Latin: vultus ) and gestures (Latin: gestus ), whereas pronuntiatio refers to the area of vocal presentation.
Physical presentation area
Above all, the physical expression offers the speaker (Latin: orator ) numerous possibilities to achieve his rhetorical goal (Greek: τέλος télos ). The ancient rhetoricians assumed that every emotion is expressed in the body . This also reflects the spirit of the speaker and therefore shows the speaker's ethos . According to Cicero, the eyes in particular can turn the soul outwards. Furthermore, they considered it necessary to stimulate affect in the audience to show the feelings that one wants to arouse in the audience. Affect and expression must therefore correspond to one another. The non-verbal communication to support what has been said.
Johann Christoph Gottsched specifies that the rhetorical figures contained in the speech should be emphasized by the movements of the body. Through the use of the body as well as through the use of linguistic means, the speaker can arouse affects and thus convince the audience.
Area of vocal performance
According to Martin Heidegger , the voice is of decisive importance in an oratorial presentation, as the way in which "people speak [...] about the matter itself is given". In the opinion of the anonymous author of the Rhetorica ad Herennium, the most important thing about the voice is its “volume, firmness and suppleness”. For Aristotle, on the other hand, “volume, tone and rhythm” were in the foreground.
Importance of the actio for oratorical success
A statement by Quintilian about the Greek orator Demosthenes shows how important the actio was for the ancient rhetoricians . When asked what is to be put first in the whole task that the speaker has to perform, he gave the lecture the victory place and also awarded it second and third place, so he replied: “ actio , actio, actio. "
The ancient theorists of rhetoric quickly recognized that the actio proves to be extremely important for achieving the rhetorical goal. However , they could not agree on uniform recommendations for action regarding the use of body and voice . While Plato and the author of the Herennius rhetoric pleaded for a moderate presentation style, Quintilian and the followers of the Second Sophistic thought a pathetic , expressive lecture was the right one. They also welcomed additional aids such as eye-catching clothing and hairstyles and were not afraid of any major outbursts of emotion, as long as they served to convince the audience. In this discussion there are clear parallels to the Atticism - Asianism debate.
In order to improve one's own actio , it was a good idea to take lessons from actors and to observe other successful speakers during their lectures and then imitate them . It was particularly important to meet the demand for appropriateness (Latin: aptum, decorum ). However, what was deemed appropriate in a specific speaking situation could vary widely from speaker to speaker. Every orator , however, had the opportunity to make his actio concrete
- negotionalen
- local
- instrumental
- final
- modal and
- temporal
To suitably coordinate the circumstances accordingly.
If one can speak of a “central importance of the Actio doctrine for the modern ideals of education and interaction” until the 18th century, then the “Eloquentia corporis” (Latin: “eloquence of the body”) has since been used in the name of an “Eloquentia cordis “(Latin: 'eloquence of the heart') devalued as affected acting. In this sense it says z. B. with Matthias Claudius : "Mistrust the gestures, and act bad and right."
literature
- Rüdiger Campe : Affect and Expression. To transform literary speech in the 17th and 18th centuries. Niemeyer, Tübingen 1990, ISBN 3-484-18107-9 .
- Ursula Geitner: The language of pretense. Studies of rhetorical and anthropological knowledge in the 17th and 18th centuries. Niemeyer, Tübingen 1992, ISBN 3-484-63001-9 .
- Karl-Heinz Göttert : Introduction to rhetoric. Basic concepts - history - reception. Fink, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-7705-2679-1 .
- Joachim Knape : What is rhetoric? Reclam, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-15-018044-9 .
- Bernd Steinbrink: Actio. In: Historical dictionary of rhetoric . Edited by Gert Ueding . Vol. 1, Niemeyer, Tübingen 1992, ISBN 3-534-12019-1 , Sp. 43-52.
- Dietmar Till: rhetoric of affect (pathos). In: Rhetoric and Stylistics. An International Handbook of Historical and Systematic Research / Rhetoric and Stylistics. An International Handbook of Historical and Systematic Research. Edited by Ulla Fix , Andreas Gardt, Joachim Knape. 1st half vol. / Vol. 1. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-013710-1 , pp. 646-668.
- Lily Tonger-Erk: Actio. Body and gender in rhetoric. De Gruyter, Berlin / Boston 2012, ISBN 978-3-11-026636-8 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Steinbrink: Actio, Col. 43.
- ^ Till: Rhetorik des Affekts (pathos), p. 661.
- ↑ Knape: What is rhetoric ?, p. 71.
- ↑ Göttert: Introduction to Rhetoric, p. 73.
- ↑ Steinbrink: Actio, Col. 44.
- ^ Quintilian: Institutionis Oratoriae Liber XI, 3, 6; see. Cicero: Brutus 38, 124, Cicero: De oratore 3, 213, Cicero: Orator 56.
- ↑ Harold C. Gotoff: Cicero's Caesarian Speeches. A Stylistic Commentary. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC / London 1993, p. 210.
- ↑ Steinbrink: Actio, Sp. 44 ff.
- ↑ Steinbrink: Actio, Col. 47.
- ↑ Knape: What is rhetoric ?, p. 89.
- ↑ Geitner: The language of adjustment, pp. 80 ff. / 168 ff.
- ^ Matthias Claudius: To my son Johannes 1799. In: All works. Text editing by Jost Perfahl. 6th edition. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1987, pp. 545-548, here p. 547.