Classical Literature: A Very Short Introduction

Posted on 11 May 2017 by William Allan

The classical world and the masterpieces of its literature continue to fascinate readers and audiences throughout the media from popular histories to the reworking of classical subject matters by contemporary poets, dramatists, and novelists In this Very Short Introduction, William Allan explores what the classics are and why they continue to shape our Western concepts of literature Presenting a range of material from both Greek and Latin literature, he illustrates the variety and sophistication of these works, and considers examples from all major genres About the Series Oxford s Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative yet always balanced and complete discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable. Download Classical Literature: A Very Short Introduction – kino-fada.fr Inspired by recent readings of Ovid s Metamorphoses and Virgil s The Aeneid, this short introduction into classical literature was a rewarding experience It offers a comparative study of the most popular literary genres in Ancient Greece and Rome, and introduces various representatives in both cultures From epic drama, naturally presented as a contrast between the Homeric works and Roman emulators, over poetry and drama to historiography and oratory, the text gives a perfect overview of the l Inspired by recent readings of Ovid s Metamorphoses and Virgil s The Aeneid, this short introduction into classical literature was a rewarding experience It offers a comparative study of the most popular literary genres in Ancient Greece and Rome, and introduces various representatives in both cultures From epic drama, naturally presented as a contrast between the Homeric...This was a very good overview of the full scope of Ancient Greek and Roman literature It really shows that it s farthan just Gods and Heroes The sections on Rhetoric and Oratory was particularly good, and covered so many writings that have real relevance today Thieves of private property spend their lives in prisons and chains Public thieves in gold and purple Cato.I can thoroughly recommend one of the other books mentioned The Nature of Things by Lucretius.Lucretius talks about t This was a very good overview of the full scope of Ancient Greek and Roman literature It rea...I ve had this little book on my shelf for ages It didn t seem like a book but a series of stunning, informative and scholarly attributes that I kept coming back to The final section discusses a short extract from Homer s Odyssey I must have read that short extract over and over again The magic of the words just making gasp I tried other t...Definitely widens the horizon on what you may be interested in reading after digesting the info intros book Reviews authors and material in terms of classical genre which isrelated to style of writing and period than subject matter Metrical verse has often been used to write history, fiction, biography, philosophy and science as well as lyrical poetry which you wouldn t be aware of through the standard 20th century translations available in the general market until mainly the 21 st c Definitely widens the horizon on what you may be interested in reading after digesting the info intros book Reviews authors and material in terms of classical genre which isrelated to style of writing and period than subject matter Metrical verse has often been used to write history, fiction, biography, philosophy and science as well as lyrical poe...A great introduction to the classics organised by literary genres, and chronologically within each genre, that helps to provide the reader with a good understanding as to how the classic literature evolved Particularly interesting are discussions on how the Greek and Roman literary forms present similarities with, and differ from, each other, and the ways in which the latter has been influenced by the former The author also makes, if sparingly, connections between the modern literature and the A great introduction to the classics organised by literary genres, and chronologically within each genre, that helps to pr...Good introduction to Greek and Roman literature, organised by genre For some reason fails to discuss philosophical texts and science maths medicine texts not a genre , but they are important texts in their own right from the classical world.

Classical Literature: A Very Short Introduction

11 May 2017

William Allan