#un peuple et son roi
At the time when the death-sentence of Louis XVI was passed, Robespierre had eighteen months to live, Danton fifteen, Vergniaud nine, Marat five months and three weeks, and Lepelletier-Saint-Fargeau one day! Brief and terrible was the breath of life in those days.
— Victor Hugo, Ninety-Three
Post link
As an orator Robespierre began the Revolution with some technical disadvantages … His voice, too high-pitched to be naturally pleasant, was also feeble in volume and lacked tonal variation. His physical stature was unimpressive … In a word, he lacked the presence of a great and commanding orator, and this shortcoming was accentuated by his habit of reading his speeches from a pile of manuscript, often with his head buried in his text.
Robespierre was well aware of these liabilities, and he worked diligently to overcome them or make his auditors forget them. His potency, however, lay not in his technical perfection but in what he had to say.
– The Revolutionary Career of Maximilien Robespierre by David P. Jordan
I like how this movie tried to capture Robespierre’s oratory. Rather than aiming for what will seem compelling based on modern expectations, the film instead shows how someone who apparently lacked “charisma” was able to speak to the people.
Post link
