Yasmin Annabel Haskell
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197262849
- eISBN:
- 9780191734588
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197262849.003.0005
- Subject:
- Literature, 17th-century and Restoration Literature
During the Enlightenment period, the French Jesuits were busy planting ornamental natural philosophy in the Virgilian soil; however, their counterparts in Rome were tilling rougher grounds and sowing ...
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During the Enlightenment period, the French Jesuits were busy planting ornamental natural philosophy in the Virgilian soil; however, their counterparts in Rome were tilling rougher grounds and sowing Lucretius's seeds far below the surface. While, in general, French Jesuits are commended for leading Italy intellectually and culturally in the Enlightenment period, it was the Italian Jesuits who produced the most rigorous scientific didactic poems. Indeed, the best-known ‘Lucretian’ poem of the period was written by the Frenchman Cardinal Melchoir de Polignac; however, he was surpassed by the seventeenth-century Italian Jesuit Tommaso Ceva with his Philosophia novo-antiqua, and moreover was debunked by Benedict Stay, a young prodigy who wrote his magnum opus, the Philosophiae recentoris libri x [= Pr]. This chapter discusses the development of scientific poetry in the age of the Enlightenment in Rome. Its focus is on the analysis of some of the exemplary works of Roman poets. The chapter also provides an overview of the contemporary Italian criticism on didactic poetry, particularly those related to scientific subjects.Less
During the Enlightenment period, the French Jesuits were busy planting ornamental natural philosophy in the Virgilian soil; however, their counterparts in Rome were tilling rougher grounds and sowing Lucretius's seeds far below the surface. While, in general, French Jesuits are commended for leading Italy intellectually and culturally in the Enlightenment period, it was the Italian Jesuits who produced the most rigorous scientific didactic poems. Indeed, the best-known ‘Lucretian’ poem of the period was written by the Frenchman Cardinal Melchoir de Polignac; however, he was surpassed by the seventeenth-century Italian Jesuit Tommaso Ceva with his Philosophia novo-antiqua, and moreover was debunked by Benedict Stay, a young prodigy who wrote his magnum opus, the Philosophiae recentoris libri x [= Pr]. This chapter discusses the development of scientific poetry in the age of the Enlightenment in Rome. Its focus is on the analysis of some of the exemplary works of Roman poets. The chapter also provides an overview of the contemporary Italian criticism on didactic poetry, particularly those related to scientific subjects.
John Godwin
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781904675631
- eISBN:
- 9781781380703
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9781904675631.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Poetry and Poets: Classical, Early, and Medieval
Of all the Roman poets, Catullus is the most accessible for the modern reader. His poems range from the sublimely beautiful to the scatologically disgusting, from the world of heroic epic poetry to ...
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Of all the Roman poets, Catullus is the most accessible for the modern reader. His poems range from the sublimely beautiful to the scatologically disgusting, from the world of heroic epic poetry to the dirt of the Roman streets. This book, which assumes no prior knowledge of the poet or of Roman poetry in general, explores Catullus in all his many guises. In six concise chapters, it deals with the cultural background to his poetic production, its literary context, the role of love, Alexandrian learning and obscenity, and, in the final chapter, considers the coherence and rationale of the collection as a whole. Each chapter is illustrated by readings of a number of poems, chosen to give a representative overview of Catullus' poetry. All quotations from the text are translated, and a brief discursive section of ‘Further Reading’ is provided at the end of each chapter. A timeline giving dates of authors mentioned and a full bibliography are also supplied.Less
Of all the Roman poets, Catullus is the most accessible for the modern reader. His poems range from the sublimely beautiful to the scatologically disgusting, from the world of heroic epic poetry to the dirt of the Roman streets. This book, which assumes no prior knowledge of the poet or of Roman poetry in general, explores Catullus in all his many guises. In six concise chapters, it deals with the cultural background to his poetic production, its literary context, the role of love, Alexandrian learning and obscenity, and, in the final chapter, considers the coherence and rationale of the collection as a whole. Each chapter is illustrated by readings of a number of poems, chosen to give a representative overview of Catullus' poetry. All quotations from the text are translated, and a brief discursive section of ‘Further Reading’ is provided at the end of each chapter. A timeline giving dates of authors mentioned and a full bibliography are also supplied.
Joseph Farrell
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- April 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199793983
- eISBN:
- 9780190261283
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199793983.003.0008
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter talks about the fragility of the physical bookroll from a Roman poet's point of view. It focuses on the ways in which the poets, even while recognizing material texts as the vehicle for ...
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This chapter talks about the fragility of the physical bookroll from a Roman poet's point of view. It focuses on the ways in which the poets, even while recognizing material texts as the vehicle for gaining a wide and lasting audience, repeatedly expressed anxieties over the corruptibility and impermanence of the physical text. The image of the bookroll is linked with the ceremonial presentation copy that associates with anxieties over public reception and isolation of the work from the poet's control.Less
This chapter talks about the fragility of the physical bookroll from a Roman poet's point of view. It focuses on the ways in which the poets, even while recognizing material texts as the vehicle for gaining a wide and lasting audience, repeatedly expressed anxieties over the corruptibility and impermanence of the physical text. The image of the bookroll is linked with the ceremonial presentation copy that associates with anxieties over public reception and isolation of the work from the poet's control.
Josephine Balmer
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199585090
- eISBN:
- 9780191747519
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199585090.003.0007
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter looks further at the translation of work by Greek and Roman women poets, here examining more complete poems by poets such as Anyte, Nossis, Sulpicia, Sulpicia the Satirist, and Julia ...
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This chapter looks further at the translation of work by Greek and Roman women poets, here examining more complete poems by poets such as Anyte, Nossis, Sulpicia, Sulpicia the Satirist, and Julia Balbilla. Versions discussed include those by Josephine Balmer in Classical Women Poets, alongside versions by H.D., and Simon Armitage.Less
This chapter looks further at the translation of work by Greek and Roman women poets, here examining more complete poems by poets such as Anyte, Nossis, Sulpicia, Sulpicia the Satirist, and Julia Balbilla. Versions discussed include those by Josephine Balmer in Classical Women Poets, alongside versions by H.D., and Simon Armitage.
W. H. Shearin
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780190202422
- eISBN:
- 9780190202446
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190202422.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
This chapter begins by arguing for the centrality of performative language to understanding De rerum natura. Among other things, this discussion connects performativity to Lucretius’ acts of ...
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This chapter begins by arguing for the centrality of performative language to understanding De rerum natura. Among other things, this discussion connects performativity to Lucretius’ acts of linguistic creation and moments where he is figured as poeta creator. The chapter then focuses upon a specific performative act, the promise, examining portions of Lucretius text that trade heavily in the language of promising. Drawing largely upon Roman lexicographical sources, the chapter ultimately contends that, at least in certain structural ways, we should view Lucretius as a fetial priest, that is, as a maker of treaties and agreements, in particular those treaties, the so-called foedera naturae, that structure the natural world.Less
This chapter begins by arguing for the centrality of performative language to understanding De rerum natura. Among other things, this discussion connects performativity to Lucretius’ acts of linguistic creation and moments where he is figured as poeta creator. The chapter then focuses upon a specific performative act, the promise, examining portions of Lucretius text that trade heavily in the language of promising. Drawing largely upon Roman lexicographical sources, the chapter ultimately contends that, at least in certain structural ways, we should view Lucretius as a fetial priest, that is, as a maker of treaties and agreements, in particular those treaties, the so-called foedera naturae, that structure the natural world.
Josephine Balmer
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199585090
- eISBN:
- 9780191747519
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199585090.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter examines further the importance of scholarship and research in classical poetry translation, with particular reference to the translation of fragmented works by Greek and Roman women ...
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This chapter examines further the importance of scholarship and research in classical poetry translation, with particular reference to the translation of fragmented works by Greek and Roman women poets. Through discussions of poets such as Corinna, Telesilla, Praxilla, Hedyle, and Erinna, and translations from Josephine Balmer’s Classical Women Poets (1996), as well as versions by Diane Rayor and Michael Longley, it explores the creative leaps that working on such incomplete, tattered sources might require.Less
This chapter examines further the importance of scholarship and research in classical poetry translation, with particular reference to the translation of fragmented works by Greek and Roman women poets. Through discussions of poets such as Corinna, Telesilla, Praxilla, Hedyle, and Erinna, and translations from Josephine Balmer’s Classical Women Poets (1996), as well as versions by Diane Rayor and Michael Longley, it explores the creative leaps that working on such incomplete, tattered sources might require.
