The Epic Distilled: Studies in the Composition of the Aeneid

ISBN-13: 9780198758877 / Angielski / Twarda / 2016 / 192 str.

Nicholas Horsfall

Opis

The Epic Distilled is a rich exploration of Virgil's use of sources in the Aeneid, considering elements of history, geography, mythology, and ethnography. Building on and developing the research involved in the author's monumental commentaries on the Aeneid, the volume investigates how the poem was written, what Virgil read, and why particular details are interwoven into the narrative.

The volume looks beyond the Aeneid's poetry and plot to focus on the "matter" of the epic: details of color, material, arms, clothing, landscape, and physiology. Details which might seem trivial are revealed as carefully deliberate and highly significant. For instance, one Trojan's specifically oriental trousers are suggestive of the Trojans' non-Roman 'otherness' and fit solidly into a complex ethnographic argument.

In this way, the meaning and implications of Virgil's heavily allusive style, including practices and techniques of composition, are unpicked meticulously. Particularly difficult and intricate passages are delved into and the significance of specific details, legends, arcane references, places, names, digressions, and inconsistencies are uncovered. By exposing new layers of illuminating material, The Epic Distilled offers readers a fresh approach to understanding the full intellectual texture of Virgil's epic poem.

Recenzje

Horsfall's slender book offers a splendid investigation of the manner in which Vergil composed the Aeneid and the manner in which it was received by his audience. Through its richness Epic Distilled raises many questions for future research, such as about variation in Vergil's audience or the effect of the poet's disguising of his inventions, while, at the same time, its numerous examples provide enticing points from which to begin. Horsfall allows us to overhear Vergil's intellectual dialogue with his readers, and it is a conversation that all those interested in the Aeneid, Vergil, or Roman literature and culture will want to join themselves.

O autorze

Nicholas Horsfall is Honorary Professor of Classics and Ancient History at Durham University.