Esempi mancati, esempi esibiti. Una lettura degli Adelphoe di Terenzio

Abstract

The comic texts, based on the principle of verisimilitude, stand as effective ‘teaching notebooks’ and can make a useful contribution to the training of the good orator: the theatre is able not only to provide rhetorical schemes or debate patterns, but above all is in a position to represent, by approximation to reality, precise states of mind. Indeed, Terence’s comedies very quickly become a training ground for rhetoric, precisely because they offer rich examples of argumentation, character development and emotional expression. The contribution presents the Adelphoe as a case-study, showing how the plot, characters and dialogues of the play are structured in such a way as to be easily employed for rhetorical purposes, as is also clear from the attention that both Cicero and Quintilian pay to Terence and this play in particular.