Kirjahaku

In their practice of aemulatio, the mimicry of older models of writing, the Augustan poets often looked to the Greeks: Horace drew inspiration from the lyric poets, Virgil from Homer, and Ovid from Hesiod, Callimachus, and others. But by the time of the great Roman tragedian Seneca, the Augustan poets had supplanted the Greeks as the "classics" to which Seneca and his contemporaries referred. Indeed, Augustan poetry is a reservoir of language, motif, and thought for Seneca's writing. Strangely, however, there has not yet been a comprehensive study revealing the relationship between Seneca and his Augustan predecessors. Christopher Trinacty's Senecan Tragedy and the Reception of Augustan Poetry is the long-awaited answer to the call for such a study. Senecan Tragedy and the Reception of Augustan Poetry uniquely places Senecan tragedy in its Roman literary context, offering a further dimension to the motivations and meaning behind Seneca's writings. By reading Senecan tragedy through an intertextual lens, Trinacty reveals Seneca's awareness of his historical moment, in which the Augustan period was eroding steadily around him. Seneca, looking back to the poetry of Horace, Virgil, and Ovid, acts as a critical interpreter of both their work and their era. He deconstructs the language of the Augustan poets, refiguring it through the perspective of his tragic protagonists. In doing so, he positions himself as a critic of the Augustan tradition and reveals a poetic voice that often subverts the classical ethos of that tradition. Through this process of reappropriation Seneca reveals much about himself as a playwright and as a man: In the inventive manner in which he re-employs the Augustan poets' language, thought, and poetics within the tragic framework, Seneca gives his model works new--and uniquely Senecan--life. Trinacty's analysis sheds new light both on Seneca and on his Augustan predecessors. As such, Senecan Tragedy and the Reception of Augustan Poetry promises to be a groundbreaking contribution to the study of both Senecan tragedy and Augustan poetry.

This book offers a comprehensive guide to the works of Seneca the Younger (4 BCE – CE 65), the foremost rhetorician, tragedian, and philosopher of his time who had a major role in the politics and culture of the age of Emperor Nero. It provides readers with the historical, philosophical, and literary background to appreciate Seneca’s works, and advances representative critical readings of his treatises and tragedies. Chapters highlight his life, political theory, Stoicism and dramaturgy, as well as contemporary and later reception of his works, and suggest further readings for those interested in pursuing these topics in greater depth. Seneca: The Basics is suitable for students and scholars of classics, philosophy, and ancient history, as well as general readers interested in learning more about Seneca and his thought.

This book offers a comprehensive guide to the works of Seneca the Younger (4 BCE – CE 65), the foremost rhetorician, tragedian, and philosopher of his time who had a major role in the politics and culture of the age of Emperor Nero. It provides readers with the historical, philosophical, and literary background to appreciate Seneca’s works, and advances representative critical readings of his treatises and tragedies. Chapters highlight his life, political theory, Stoicism and dramaturgy, as well as contemporary and later reception of his works, and suggest further readings for those interested in pursuing these topics in greater depth. Seneca: The Basics is suitable for students and scholars of classics, philosophy, and ancient history, as well as general readers interested in learning more about Seneca and his thought.