Virgil in the Renaissance

A panoramic account of how Virgil was interpreted by poets and scholars in the Renaissance, from Petrarch to Spenser.

David Scott Wilson-Okamura (Author)

9781316505342, Hitachi

Paperback / softback, published 17 December 2015

314 pages, 5 b/w illus. 2 tables
23 x 15.3 x 2 cm, 0.46 kg

'There is much in this book that will be a delight to those who are interested in the reception of Virgil in these periods of intense literary and artistic creativity. … will be profitably consulted and enjoyed for its rich, panoramic … presentation of texts that repay closer study …' Bryn Mawr Classical Review

The disciplines of classical scholarship were established in their modern form between 1300 and 1600, and Virgil was a test case for many of them. This book is concerned with what became of Virgil in this period, how he was understood, and how his poems were recycled. What did readers assume about Virgil in the long decades between Dante and Sidney, Petrarch and Spenser, Boccaccio and Ariosto? Which commentators had the most influence? What story, if any, was Virgil's Eclogues supposed to tell? What was the status of his Georgics? Which parts of his epic attracted the most imitators? Building on specialized scholarship of the last hundred years, this book provides a panoramic synthesis of what scholars and poets from across Europe believed they could know about Virgil's life and poetry.

Introduction
Part I. Publication: 1. Virgil with an i
Part II. Reputation: 2. Patronage and the Eclogues
3. Variety and the Georgics
4. Morals and minimalism
Part III. Interpretation: 5. Virgil's Odyssey
6. Virgil's Iliad
Epilogue
Appendix A. Virgil commentaries (alphabetical)
Appendix B. Virgil commentaries (ranked).

Subject Areas: Literary studies: c 1500 to c 1800 [DSBD], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB], Literary studies: general [DSB], Literary theory [DSA], Literature & literary studies [D]