Cicero's Style: A Synopsis. Followed by Selected Analytic Studies

by Michael von Albrecht

This comprehensive study of Cicero's style discusses differences of literary genres (Ch.1), nuances of style within individual works (Ch.2), and chronological development (Ch.3), followed by an account of fixed elements typical of Cicero's diction (Ch.4). Finally, selected interpretative studies demonstrate the relationship of style and context in the orations, with special regard to literary form and political or moral content (Ch.5). The book concludes with an Epilogue on the De oratore and the culture of speech. Contrary to inveterate prejudices, Cicero does not confine himself to a single (so-called 'Ciceronian') style, but consciously and ably employs the full register of styles. The author points out in what respects a study of his style might be rewarding even today.

296 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

The son of the composer Georg Albrecht first attended the Music Academy in Stuttgart, where he graduated in 1955 after taking the state examination. In Tübingen and Paris, he then studied classical philology and Indology in 1959. In 1964, Albrecht was appointed professor of classical philology at the University of Heidelberg, where he remained until his retirement in 1998. He was also the Visiting Professor at the University of Amsterdam and a visiting member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton in 1981. Michael von Albrecht's research focuses on ancient music, Roman literature and its reception, history, and comparative literature . His two-volume history of Roman literature, which has been translated into eight languages, is as much a standard work as the masters of Roman prose. He also went through translations from the Latin, especially from Virgil and Ovid . In 1998 he received an honorary doctorate from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki . For his translations of Latin, he was awarded with the Johann Heinrich Voss Award for translation excellent, in 2004.