Imagery of Colour and Shining in Catullus, Propertius, and Horace (Lang Classical Studies) - Hardcover

Clarke, Jacqueline

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0820456721 ISBN 13: 9780820456720

Publisher: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers, 2003

Synopsis

In recent years there has been growing interest in the concepts of pictorial vividness («enargeia») and pictorial description («ekphrasis») in the works of ancient writers. Colour imagery can play a significant part in such pictorial effects. This book explores the visual and stylistic contributions that words for colour and shining make to the poetry of Catullus, Propertius, and Horace. First, the instances of colour usage by the three poets are analyzed and compared with the colour imagery of other ancient poets and artists. «Colour readings» of selected poems follow, illustrating how colours are employed by these poets to heighten the visual impact of their poems and influence the reader’s emotional responses. This book fills a gap in the scholarship on colour in ancient poetry and provides fresh perspectives on the work of three important poets.

About this title

About the Author

The Author: Jacqueline Clarke is Lecturer in Classics at the Centre for European Studies and General Linguistics at Adelaide University, Australia. She received her B.A. (Hons) from the University of Newcastle, Australia, in 1987 and her Ph.D. in classics from Adelaide University in 1999.

Review

«Colour and light have always been powerful elements in poetry, but their vivid role in the Roman poets is made more complex by the distinctive features of Roman conception of the different colours, their physical associations, and their emotional or ritual significance. 'Imagery of Colour & Shining in Catullus, Propertius, & Horace' applies and develops for the understanding of colour in Latin lyric and elegy the approach of Edgeworth (1992) to colour in Virgilian epic. Jacqueline Clarke’s presentation combines a fully documented glossary of colour- and light-based terms with critical analysis of key passages and their role in major poems of Catullus, Propertius, and Horace. It stimulates the reader to appreciate both the visual and associative meaning of an important component in some of Rome’s most memorable poetry.» (Elaine Fantham, Princeton University)
«This is a work of diligence that is well carried through and substantially convincing in its results. Jacqueline Clarke demonstrates literary taste and a good capacity for orienting herself within the Greek and Roman sources and within the abundant secondary literature.» (Emanuele Narducci, University of Florence)

Edition details

• Publisher: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0820456721
• ISBN 13: 9780820456720
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 337