declamation

[ dek-luh-mey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act or art of declaiming.
2. exercise in oratory or elocution, as in the recitation of a classic speech.
3. speech or writing for oratorical effect.
4. Music. the proper enunciation of the words, as in recitative.

declamation

/ ˌdɛkləˈmeɪʃən /

noun

1. a rhetorical or emotional speech, made esp in order to protest or condemn; tirade
2. a speech, verse, etc, that is or can be spoken
3. the act or art of declaiming
4. music the artistry or technique involved in singing recitative passages

Word History and Origins

Origin of declamation¹

1350–1400; < Latin dēclāmātiōn- (stem of dēclāmātiō ), equivalent to dēclāmāt ( us ) (past participle of dēclāmāre to declaim; -ate ¹ ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

In 1966, the Met premiered Samuel Barber's "Antony and Cleopatra," a Shakespeare-inspired spectacle that was panned by the New York Times as an "artifice with a great flourish masquerading as art," producing music that "abounded in declamation and pageantry" but failed to explore the subject — love between a man and woman — and couldn't be saved by Leontyne Price singing at the peak of her powers.

From Salon

He stretched language and banality to operatic extremes, exalting discarded bits of life as if they were cosmic, in stylized declamation that is every bit as musical as Mozart.

From New York Times

His most signature declamation is “AaaaahhhhI”

From Seattle Times

But the whole show is well cast and performed, and even when the action feels overly constructed or declamatory — and there is a rash of declamation toward the season’s end — there is something or someone pleasing to latch onto.

From Los Angeles Times

As this druid high priestess, caught in a forbidden love triangle with a Roman soldier and a fellow priestess, Yoncheva can be forceful in declamation — the singing that’s more like speechifying.

From New York Times