Aspects of the Language in Latin Poetry (Proceedings of the British Academy) [Hardcover]

J. N. Adams (Editor), R. G. Mayer (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 29, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0197261787 | ISBN-13: 978-0197261781

Of the peoples of ancient Italy, only the Romans committed newly composed poems to writing, and for about 250 years Latin-speakers developed an impressive verse literature. The language had traditional resources of high style, e.g. alliteration, lexical and morphological archaism or grecism, and of course metaphor and word-order; and there were also less obvious resources in the technical vocabularies of law, philosophy, and medicine. The essays in this volume show how the poets in the classical period combined these elements, and so created a poetic medium that could comprehend satire, invective, erotic elegy, drama, lyric, and the grandest heroic epics. These wide-ranging studies will be essential reading for all students of Latin.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`Mayer's ... examination of how readers of Latin poetry in antiquity understood the phenomenon is exemplary, as is his application to practical categories ... an outstanding collection of essays, a welcome resource for students and a store of information for critics and commentators.' Peter E.Knox, The Classical Review, Vol.51, No.1, 2001

About the Author

J. N. Adams is at University of Reading. R. G. Mayer is at King's College London.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 456 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 29, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0197261787
• ISBN-13: 978-0197261781
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,297,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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