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Horace's Iambic Criticism
Casting Blame (Iambikē Poiēsis)
Series: - Mnemosyne, Supplements, Volume: 334
Author:
To date the positive value of Horace’s iambic criticism has been underestimated, and overall Horace has been tamed too much. By examining the relationship of the iambic tradition with ritual, this book studies how Horace’s
Epodes are more than partisan (consolidating Octavian’s victory by projecting hostilities onto powerless others) but meta-partisan (forming fractured entities into a diversified unity). As Horace moves through his iambics to lyrics (
Epodes to
Odes), he stages acts of aggression and retaliation along with attempts at resistance and reconciliation so that this shifting back and forth creates a correspondence between perspectives. Unity develops from diversity,
polyeideia. This is the point at which Horace socializes literary criticism (
Ars Poetica):
societas becomes the
telos of his poetics.
Timothy S. Johnson, Ph.D. (1993) in Classical Philology, University of Illinois, is Professor and Chair of Classics at the College of Charleston. He is well-known for his research in Horatian studies, including
A Symposion of Praise (Wisconsin 2004).
This book extends the conversation on the value of abusive speech, including modern satire. It will appeal to anyone interested in the relationship of literature and politics, religion, and philosophy, as well as the history of civil war Rome.