The Odes of Horace: A Critical Study / Edition 1

by Steele Commager

Overview

In The Odes of Horace, Steele Commager examines the odes with particular attention both to their language and structure and to the effect a poem is intended to, or does, produce. Horace’s conciseness and apparent clarity phrase by phrase tempt us into believing that there is an equally concise and clear meaning to be assigned to a poem, or even to his thought as a whole. Yet Horace has no systematic philosophy to impart; his poems record only an imaginative apprehension of the world. Each ode is a calculated assault on our sensibilities, a deliberate invasion of our consciousness. Only by yielding to each in its entirety can we momentarily share Horace’s vision.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780806127293
Publisher:	University of Oklahoma Press
Publication date:	04/15/1995
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	386
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.86(d)

About the Author

Steele Commager was Professor of Greek and Latin at Columbia University. He was the author of a Prolegomenon to Propertius and editor of Virgil: A Collection of Critical Essays.