Poetics. Longinus: On the Sublime. Demetrius: On Style

Aristotle; Longinus; Demetrius

ISBN 10: 0674995635 / ISBN 13: 9780674995635

Published by Harvard University Press, 1995

About this Item

Hardcover w/dust jacket. Strong binding. Clean, unmarked text. Thanks for looking!

Seller Inventory # 071826001

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Poetics. Longinus: On the Sublime. Demetrius: On Style
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication Date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674995635
• ISBN 13: 9780674995635
• Binding: hardcover
• Condition: As New
• Weight: 12 ounces

About this title

Synopsis

Classic criticism.

This volume brings together the three most influential ancient Greek treatises on literature.

Aristotle’s Poetics contains his treatment of Greek tragedy: its history, nature, and conventions, with details on poetic diction. Stephen Halliwell makes this seminal work newly accessible with a reliable text and a translation that is both accurate and readable. His authoritative introduction traces the work’s debt to earlier theorists (especially Plato), its distinctive argument, and the reasons behind its enduring relevance.

The essay On the Sublime, usually attributed to “Longinus” (identity uncertain), was probably composed in the first century AD; its subject is the appreciation of greatness (“the sublime”) in writing, with analysis of illustrative passages ranging from Homer and Sappho to Plato and Genesis. In this edition, Donald A. Russell has judiciously revised and newly annotated the text and translation by W. Hamilton Fyfe and provides a new introduction.

The treatise On Style, ascribed to an (again unidentifiable) Demetrius, was perhaps composed during the secod century BC. It is notable particularly for its theory and analysis of four distinct styles (grand, elegant, plain, and forceful). Doreen Innes’ fresh rendering of the work is based on the earlier Loeb translation by W. Rhys Roberts. Her new introduction and notes represent the latest scholarship.

The Loeb Classical Library edition of Aristotle is in twenty-three volumes.

About the Authors

Stephen Halliwell is Professor of Greek at the University of St Andrews.

Donald A. Russell, FBA (1920–2020) was Emeritus Professor of Classical Literature, University of Oxford, and Emeritus Fellow of St John’s College, Oxford.

Doreen C. Innes is a Fellow in Classics at St Hilda’s College, University of Oxford.