Epic in Republican Rome

by Sander M. Goldberg

Overview

Epic in Republican Rome is the first extended literary treatment of early Latin epic. Goldberg views the creators of these now-fragmentary works not simply as predecessors of Vergil, who in important ways stands outside their tradition, but as pioneers and poets in their own right. Still, he goes beyond practical criticism. Exploring the literary experiments of Andronicus, Naevius, Ennius, and Cicero, Goldberg examines issues of poetry and patronage, cultural assimilation and national ideology, modeling and originality that both come to characterize Roman literature of all periods and continue to shape modern responses to that literature. The aesthetic questions raised are thus inseparable from the wider cultural context that encouraged poets to develop - and Roman society to value - an epic tradition in Latin. The book combines traditional literary and philological methods with modern techniques of cultural studies and contemporary inquiries into the formation of national literatures. What emerges from Goldberg's study is a fresh perspective on Vergil's achievement, with new insights into the cultural dynamics of Republican Rome.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195093728
Publisher:	Oxford University Press, USA
Publication date:	06/28/1997
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.38(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.78(d)
Lexile:	1380L (what's this?)

About the Author

University of California, Los Angeles

Editorial Reviews

"Goldberg offers the best treatment of Cicero's lack of success as an epic poet that I have yet read....this book is very much worth consulting by those possesed of an interest in Roman religion."—Religious Studies Review

"Excellent....Epic in Republican Rome sets out to consider the teleological fallacy, by studying the remains of the lost epics of Livius Andronicus, Naevius, Ennius and Cicero, and doing justice to them in their own terms."—Times Literary Supplement

From the Publisher