Maximianus' 'Elegies'

Love Elegy Grew Old

Vasileios Pappas

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9783110770612
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Ancient & Classical Literary Criticism
• Index: Literature

This book is the first study to focus on a metaliterary interpretation of Maximianus' Elegies, and aims to fill a major gap in international literature concerning the thoughts of the last love elegist on the evolution and renovation of the genre of love elegy during Late Antiquity.

The book includes all known subjects of Maximianus' poetry (e.g., the division of his work into six elegies, its attribution to Cornelius Gallus by Pomponius Gauricus in 1502, its reception in recent years, the intellectual milieu of the Ostrogothic Italy, the historical contextualization of his poetry, the Appendix Maximiani, the impact of the Augustan love elegy (and especially Ovid's) upon it, etc.), in order to offer a more complete picture of it. However, the content of the book is predominantly prototype, as it examines subjects that have not previously been discussed in the past. These include: a) The generic interaction between the 'host' genre of love elegy, and several 'guest' genres (e.g., Roman comedy, epic, pastoral); b) The hidden metapoetic discourse regarding the genre of love elegy itself.

The book is intended for scholars or students working on or interested in Roman love elegy and its generic evolution in Late Antiquity.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface – Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Non sum qui fueram: Elegy 1
• 3 Lycoris grew old: Elegy 2
• 4 Generic Interplay and Poetics in Elegy 3
• 5 A Deceitful Dream: Elegy 4
• 6 Non fleo privatum, sed generale chaos: Politics and Poetics in Elegy 5
• 7 The Last Words: Elegy 6
• 8 Epilogue
• List of Abbreviations
• Electronic Sources
• Index locorum
• Index of names
• Index of places
• Index rerum