The Three Styles (Grand, Middle, and Plain)

Ancient rhetoricians taught that effective speech comes in distinct registers, classically three: the grand or elevated style that stirs and overwhelms, the middle or smooth style that pleases and delights, and the plain or restrained style that instructs with clarity. Each register was matched to a particular aim and subject, and the truly accomplished speaker was the one who could shift among them as the moment required. Cicero gave the doctrine its most influential form, tying the three styles to the orator's three duties—to move, to please, and to teach—while Demetrius mapped a related scheme of four character-types of style.