Catullus and the Poetics of Roman Manhood

by David Wray

Overview

This literary study of the first-century BCE Roman poet, Catullus uses two sets of comparative models to offer a new understanding of his poems. The first consists of cultural anthropological accounts of male social interaction in the premodern Mediterranean, and the second, the postmodern poetics of such twentieth-century poets as Louis Zukofsky, which are characterized by simultaneous juxtaposition, a "collage" aesthetic, and self-allusive play. The book will be of interest to students of comparative literature and gender studies as well as to classicists.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521661270
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/06/2001
Pages:	260
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.75(d)
Lexile:	1830L (what's this?)

About the Author

David Wray is Assistant Professor of Classical Languages and Literatures at the University of Chicago. He received his doctorate from Harvard and has previously taught at Georgia State University and Kennesaw State University. He has published articles on Roman and Hellenistic Greek poetry and literary translation and is currently an Associate Editor of the journal Classical Philology.

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Catullan criticism and the problem of lyric; 2. A postmodern Catullus?; 3. Manhood and Lesbia in the shorter poems; 4. Towards a Mediterranean poetics of aggression; 5. Code models of Catullan manhood; Works cited; Passages discussed; General index.

Editorial Reviews

"Because of the technical nature of the language and ideas, this text is clearly aimed at graduate students and scholars in the field of Latin poetry and comparative literature." Religious Studies Review

From the Publisher