The Mostly Latin Epigram

Catalog description

In this seminar we will explore the themes and aesthetics of the Latin epigram, a genre (or is it?) best known for its brevity and wit but one whose precise nature is tantalizingly elusive. After orienting ourselves in the epigrams of Hellenistic Greek epigrammatists and late Republican authors like the so-called Neoterics (Catullus, Cinna, Calvus, Caesar), we will turn our attention to the poetry of Martial, whose accounts of Rome, its inhabitants, and their foibles exerted a profound influence on subsequent epigrammatists. Among the themes we will engage are: epigram as a genre; persona in tessellated textual collections; the interaction of refined and obscene language; and the artistic and intellectual implications of replication, anthology, and remix.