Ladies and Gentlemen
“The guest of honor sir, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Today ” this is the most commonly used introductory words in almost all speeches by speakers of all times. Above all, the term ladies and gentlemen is frequently repeated throughout the speech in recognition of every person present. When someone does something childish, their colleagues will quickly respond, “hey! Be a gentleman!” in real sense, the term lady and gentleman is used to refer to a person who is polite, people who respect themselves and command respect in the society as well as self-styled. It is a term used to refer to people of high caliber and well educated-people who have a command in their professional fields (Castiglione,, 2003).
In today’s world, most corporate institutions are looking for ball-rounded individuals to fill their job vacancies; or simply, well-rounded persons. A well-rounded individual is a person who can easily adapt to changes in the place of work; ability to associate cordially with people of different religious, social and economic backgrounds; and being in a position to embrace different political ideologies. Today she is the head of human resource and when she is transferred to head the marketing department tomorrow, she equally perform- is a well-rounded lady (Sofer, 2011). They are people who cherish teamwork in their quest to achieve their goals or the goals of the organization. In high schools, students are encouraged to participate in co-curriculum activities as well as being given leadership responsibilities to shape them for the market. Academic excellence cannot be solely used to determine the success of an individual.
According to Baldesar Castiglione, in his book; the book of the courtier, he goes on to explain what is good behavior as well as a noble government. The Italian further describes the essential characters of those in courts and justice (Castiglione, 2003). He identifies chiefly discretion and decorum as the main character traits of a gentleman or a lady. Such people are also nonchalant according to the Italian diplomat. Moreover, he describes such people such people as graceful-polite, kind and pleasant even in difficult situations. Baldesar further goes to describe the true nature of love as a human character.
Baldesar Castiglione, in is fictional conversations with the courtiers, he describes a successful courtier as someone with a cool mind and beautiful voice. He must have elegant and brave words. These words should have proper bearings accompanied with effective gestures. The courtier should have the spirit of a warrior. He is also supposed to have a perfect knowledge of humanities as well as fine arts. He goes further to describe him as a person of great humor and nobility. He must be a person of great love and tender care for women (Sofer, 2011).
According to Wayne Rebhorn, a Castiglione scholar, a courtier can be described by the way he presents himself. His code of dressing must be appealing to his audience and bring out a sense of admiration for them. The speech of a courtier will definitely make people marvel at him. The audience will also try to contemplate him. Rebhorn goes ahead to concede that the success of a courtier is determined by how his audience receives and applauds him.
According to a 54 years old lady, a lady or a gentleman is a polite person who can command respect within his or her environs as well as outside his environs. They are solution providers and not trouble makers. For instance, she describes a perfect family as a composition of a man and a lady, where the former is the husband and the latter is the wife with young ladies and gentlemen-simply the children. A gentleman will not batter his wife for a mistake, but he will embrace dialogue as a way of providing a solution. She continues to say that a lady will not retort to her husband whatsoever (Castiglione,, 2003). In such a family, children are believed to be young ladies and gentlemen because she believes that a gentleman or a lady is not made overnight but it is a gradual process that is initiated at birth.
In today’s society, most people believe that the notion of being a lady or a gentleman still exists, though they also believe that most people are not able to be either. A 42 years old gentleman believes that there is a massive deviation from the societal norms especially by the youths; ranging from drug and substance abuse, prostitution, devil worshipping, crimes, all the way from lesbianism to gays. In today’s world, there is much deviation of people from their religious believes. It is this high rate of immorality that makes the world to be insufficient of ladies and gentlemen (Senechal, 2006).
Most people between the age of 16 and 28 years old believe that being a lady or gentleman is no longer relevant. For example, in the past, young people would give their seats to the elders and the disabled whether in buses, trains, public gathering and even the church. Today, only a few people would give their seats to an expectant mother as a sign of respect! A guy of 19 years old simply said: “why would I give my seat in a bus to another person while I have equally paid for the same service?” this would surprise many, especially those who believe in being a gentleman (Castiglione,, 2003).
According to the research, people also have a different perception about love. Most teenage believes that love is an intimate feeling by one person for another person, especially people of different gender. According to a 22 years old lady, such love is natural although it grows according to how your partner perceives you. Most teenagers also believed that most of such love leads to a close relationship, and sometimes into marriage. Most teenagers also did not believe in love for your brother, that is general love for all mankind. However, people who are into religion believed in love for all mankind (Senechal, 2006). They believed that all humankind should be treated in a respectful manner, treated cordially and accorded equal rights within the law. The research also shows that women generally love each other compared to men, and they hold a close relationship amongst themselves as compared to men. They have the feelings of their friends and colleagues at their hand.
In conclusion, there has been a lot of dynamism on the way people perceives one as being a lady or a gentleman. Much as there has been scores of people underrating the need to be a gentleman, I believe there is the need to embrace the character traits of courtiers of the Duke of Urbino as describe by Baldesar Castiglione.
References.
Castiglione, B. (2003). The book of the courtier. Mineola, N.Y: Dover Publications.
Sofer, M. (2011). Translator Self-Training--Portuguese: A Practical Course in Technical Translation. Lanham: Taylor Trade Pub.
Senechal, D., & Vault (Firm). (2006). The college buzz book. New York: Vault.
