Carpe Diem (Cambridge Classical Studies) - Softcover

Rohland, Robert A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1009018558 ISBN 13: 9781009018555

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2022

Synopsis

Carpe diem – 'eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die!' – is a prominent motif throughout ancient literature and beyond. This is the first book-length examination of its significance and demonstrates that close analysis can make a key contribution to a question that is central to literary studies in and beyond Classics: how can poetry give us the almost magical impression that something is happening here and now? In attempting an answer, Robert Rohland gives equal attention to Greek and Latin texts, as he offers new interpretations of well-known poems from Horace and tackles understudied epigrams. Pairing close readings of ancient texts along with interpretations of other forms of cultural production such as gems, cups, calendars, monuments, and Roman wine labels, this interdisciplinary study transforms our understanding of the motif of carpe diem.

About this title

About the Author

Robert A. Rohland is a Junior Research Fellow (under Title A) at Trinity College Cambridge. His research focuses on two forms of ancient poetry: lyric and epigram, with equal attention to Greek and Latin material. He is also particularly interested in analysing poetry along other forms of ancient cultural production, such as artworks or calendars.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1009018558
• ISBN 13: 9781009018555
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 318