Imitatios Paper

Reflection of Imitatios

            When doing my imitatios assignment I found it initially challenging, being overwhelmed by the language of the ancient speech that I chose, and feeling like I would not be able imitate something so well-known, something so infamously important.  But as I read and re-read the speech it became clear to me that I was going to have to incorporate elements of the speech and then translate them into something that I could make my own, something that reflected my own voice and worked for the argument that I chose.  The issue was finding a way to impart to my audience the severe effects of eating disorders and verbal abuse of physical attributes, primarily from women about themselves.  In order to engage the audience I needed to provide a clear explanation of the problem and explain the issue by imploring Cicero’s methods. 

            I stumbled upon The First Oration Against Catiline by Cicero where in which Cicero prolifically questions Catiline during the controversy surrounding his possible involvement in murder. Cicero begins by addressing Catiline with several questions, probing him for an explanation of his bothersome behavior.  Cicero was clearly frustrated, and chose to utilize his frustration to interrogate his audience, this tact is what I chose to emulate, to find a frustration and then interrogate my audience.  I chose to discuss eating disorders and how females in particular seem to encourage each other and themselves to formulate negative views about their appearance.  This interrogative method was the primary tool that I imitated from Cicero, that and his ability to balance several questions with statements of principle and fact—of experience and of reason—so that his audience could thus be informed and inadvertently persuaded. 

I utilized the first two paragraphs for my imitation, and while that might seem to be a small piece of the whole speech, I tend to take imitations very indirectly, allowing what stands out to me to inspire new creations as well as instigate a means of simulation of the original text.  I do not usually find that direct imitations serve as the best tool for my creative process, and so with Cicero’s speech a lose interpretation of the basic design and methodology worked for me the best.  The instigative questions that Cicero proposed were useful in inspiring how I was going to present the speech, and understanding how asking multiple questions sequentially in written form might not prove to be the most effective, therefore I chose to implement this method verbally. 

The challenge of writing this speech first began with accepting the challenge of actually composing it in my head, then rehearsing it internally in my mind, then I spoke it out loud, practiced what it sounded like to hear my voice say the words, and then finally I performed the speech for the class.  The limitation of my topic resided in its level of severity compared to Cicero.  While the issue of eating disorders is not immediately comparable to murder it can in fact lead to death, the consequence of ignoring the issue can eventually lead to death.  I used this to elevate my speech and I was able to do so because of the value of careful consideration that I learned from Cicero.  His organized way of presenting the issue at hand through interrogative measure and then following with evidence and logical thought were tactics that I used in my speech to hopefully impact my audience into serious thought on the issue of eating disorders.

The start of my speech was something that was slightly more rehearsed than the rest, I knew that I needed a solid place to begin, one that I knew that I could rely on myself to remember, and the beginning of Cicero’s speech allowed me to create a purposeful and memorable beginning.  This was achieved by throwing several questions at the audience, asking them about their awareness of eating disorders, and their understanding of daily discourses with themselves and between their peers.  When Cicero addresses his audience he demands an answer as to why Catiline thinks that he go about things the way he is.  The method that Cicero employs is successful because he demands the immediate attention of his audience, and this translates over to modern times.  All too often people tip toe around people’s feelings and think that certain emotions and opinions are what some people define others by, and when that happens often it is challenging to have control over an audience.  In Cicero’s situation he claims control over his audience because he demands their attention, he demands their understanding of what they are doing wrong, and that is what I attempted to imitate in my speech, to portray that confidence in being able to control my audience, to understand what I needed to say to put them on the spot, and to do what Cicero was able to do in his speech.

The content of the body and the conclusion were also adapted from Cicero’s speech, and where he skillfully provided the partial logos needed to help his audience understand the logic behind the argument that he was raising.  In my speech I attempted to provide clear explanations for what I thought the issue was, as well as ask prompting questions for the audience, the class, to be able to come to those logical conclusions themselves. 

By not relying on a piece of paper, or notecards, or even stressing about what I was supposed to say, this assignment allowed me to say what I needed to say, what was meant for the situation, what was required at that specific moment in time, with that specific audience.  The process in a sense fit perfectly with the kairos, and that freedom allowed for the appropriate timing and delivery of the topic of discussion.  I felt that for myself the kairos would not have been appropriate had I read the speech from a piece of paper, or even memorized it from a written document, the speech needed to be created from this unconventional form, and that was only made possible by the conventional methods of Cicero and other ancient rhetoricians.