Our Masters' Voices

First published in 1984. For those who have heard Max Atkinson expounding his theses about the nature of stimulus and response for political speakers seeking applause, have their political lives transformed. They cannot go to a public meeting without listening for the anti­theses and the triads that, when properly delivered, guarantee applause and, in the right circumstances, television coverage. Oratory is an ancient art. Demosthenes, Cicero and Quintillian offered instruction in the art of holding audiences and winning sympathetic reaction from them. But they did not have the advantage of modern technology to analyse systematically why particular styles or tricks worked. Oratory was a major academic subject for 2000 years. But over the last three centuries criticism has moved from the spoken to the written word. Now Max Atkinson has tried to redress the balance. He has added a new dimension to the appreciation of current politics.