Horace: Satires Book I

Helps readers to translate and interpret Horace's first book of Satires in the light of recent scholarship.

Horace (Author), Emily Gowers (Edited by)

9780521458511, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 12 January 2012

379 pages, 1 map
21.5 x 13.9 x 1.7 cm, 0.52 kg

'Everyone who reads satire comes to it with different interests, and Gowers accordingly gives space to a variety of topics and avenues of investigation in her essays and notes … She is particularly talented at exposing the relationship between the anecdotal poems 7-9 and unpacking the various messages that are embedded in Horace's dense verse. These pieces reward readers with a tantalizing … glimpse into the historical poet's lived experience.' Jayne Knight, Mnemosyne

Horace's first book of Satires is his debut work, a document of one man's self-fashioning on the cusp between republic and empire, and a pivotal text in the history of Roman satire. It wrestles with the problem of how to define and assimilate satire and justifies the poet's own position in a suspicious society. The commentary gives full weight to the dense texture of these poems while helping readers interpret their most cryptic aspects and appreciate their technical finesse. The introduction puts Horace in context as late-Republican newcomer and a vital figure in the development of satire, and discusses the structure and meaning of Satires I, literary and philosophical influences, style, metre, transmission and Horace's rich afterlife. Each poem is followed by an essay offering overall interpretation. This work is designed for upper-level students and scholars of classics but contains much of interest to specialists in later European literature.

Introduction
Text
Commentary.

Subject Areas: Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]