This book applies some of the procedures of modern critical theory to the interpretation of Latin poetry. The author argues for an approach that sees the meaning of a text as always and necessarily involved in the process of "reception," that is the way it has been read and interpreted from the time of its composition down to the present day. A study of its reception-history facilitates novel and more profitable ways of reading. He illustrates his approach with exemplary readings of Virgil, Ovid, Horace and Lucan.
This book applies some of the procedures of modern critical theory to the interpretation of Latin poetry. The author argues for an approach that sees ...
Despite the fact that the Roman Republic came to an undeniable end in 31 BC with the accession of the emperor Augustus, the memory of the Republic persisted. This book explores how that memory manifested itself, serving as an avenue for dissent as well as imperial propaganda, before gradually fading over the course of the early Empire (AD 14-117). Presenting case-studies of several imperial authors and key Roman monuments, it also examines the close relationship between memory and history in Roman thought, informed by modern studies of historical memory.
Despite the fact that the Roman Republic came to an undeniable end in 31 BC with the accession of the emperor Augustus, the memory of the Republic per...
This study examines the role of female characters in the Roman epic poetry of Virgil, Ovid and other writers. Its five chapters argue that the feminized landscapes, militaristic women, and beautiful female corpses of the Roman epic tradition should be interpreted in conjunction with the use of the genre by ancient educators as a means of inculcating Roman codes of masculinity and femininity in their pupils. The issues addressed are of interest not just to classicists but also to students of later poetic traditions and to those pursuing gender studies.
This study examines the role of female characters in the Roman epic poetry of Virgil, Ovid and other writers. Its five chapters argue that the feminiz...
How should we react as readers and as critics when two passages in a literary work contradict one another? Classicists once assumed that all inconsistencies in ancient texts needed to be amended, explained away, or lamented. Building on recent work on both Greek and Roman authors, this book explores the possibility of interpreting inconsistencies in Roman epic. After a chapter surveying Greek background material including Homer, tragedy, Plato and the Alexandrians, five chapters argue that comparative study of the literary use of inconsistencies can shed light on major problems in Catullus'...
How should we react as readers and as critics when two passages in a literary work contradict one another? Classicists once assumed that all inconsist...
How should we react as readers and as critics when two passages in a literary work contradict one another? Classicists once assumed that all inconsistencies in ancient texts needed to be amended, explained away, or lamented. Building on recent work on both Greek and Roman authors, this book explores the possibility of interpreting inconsistencies in Roman epic. After a chapter surveying Greek background material including Homer, tragedy, Plato and the Alexandrians, five chapters argue that comparative study of the literary use of inconsistencies can shed light on major problems in Catullus'...
How should we react as readers and as critics when two passages in a literary work contradict one another? Classicists once assumed that all inconsist...
The Latin language is popularly imagined in a number of specific ways: as a masculine language, an imperial language, a classical language, a dead language. This book considers the sources of these metaphors and analyzes their effect on how Latin literature is read. By reading with and more commonly against these metaphors, the book offers a different view of Latin as a language and as a vehicle for cultural practice. The argument ranges over a variety of texts in Latin and texts about Latin from antiquity to the twentieth century.
The Latin language is popularly imagined in a number of specific ways: as a masculine language, an imperial language, a classical language, a dead lan...
This book deals with the ways in which the ancient Roman literary imagination explored the phenomenon of slavery. It asks what the free imagination made of the experience of living with slaves, beings who both were and were not fellow humans. The book covers the full range of Roman literature, and is arranged thematically. It discusses the ideological relation of Roman literature to the institution of slavery, and also the ways in which slavery provided a metaphor for other relationships and experiences, and in particular for literature itself.
This book deals with the ways in which the ancient Roman literary imagination explored the phenomenon of slavery. It asks what the free imagination ma...
