Visualizing the Poetry of Statius. This item is unavailable.Visualizing the Poetry of Statius

Scholars have long noted the strikingly visual aspects of Statius’ poetry. This book advances our understanding of how these visual aspects work through intertextual analysis. In the Thebaid, for instance, Statius repeatedly presents “visual narratives” in the form of linked descriptive (or ekphrastic) passages. These narratives are subject to multiple forms visual interpretation inflected by the intertextual background. Similarly, the Achilleid activates particularly Roman conceptions of masculinity through repeated evocations of Achilles’ blush. The Silvae offer a diversity of modes of viewing that evoke Roman conceptions of gender and class.

Christopher Chinn, PhD (2002), University of Washington, is Associate Professor of Classics at Pomona College (Claremont, CA, USA). He has published numerous articles and chapters on Imperial Latin literature, especially Statius and Pliny.