What This Collection Is
This volume chronicles the development of Latin literature during the Republic, beginning with the 'Saturnian' meter and indigenous vestiges like prophetic verses and ritual hymns. It details how the capture of Tarentum brought Greece to Rome, leading to the works of Livius Andronicus and the patriotic epics of Naevius. The collection moves through the massive influence of Ennius, who shaped the Roman national sentiment, and examines the popularity of early tragedy under Pacuvius and Accius. It concludes by analyzing the intellectual intensity of Lucretius and the vivid, youthful personal revelations found in the poems of Catullus, documenting a shift from communal history to individual experience.
Figures & speakers
- Cn. Naevius
Soldier-poet who wrote the first epic on the First Punic War.
- Q. Ennius
The father of Roman poetry who expressed the Senate's majesty.
- Lucretius
Philosophical poet who interpreted nature through scientific analogies and rhythm. (in “THE LITERARY ART AND GENIUS OF LUCRETIUS”)
- Catullus
Lyricist whose surviving poems offer a vivid revelation of youth. (in “CATULLUS”)
What it's really about
- National Sentiment
- Poetry as a record of Roman political and military identity.
- Greek Imitation
- The adaptation of Hellenic forms to fit Italian moral feeling.
Why it's memorable
- Aeneas and his wife fleeing Troy with their heads covered in the Saturnian verses of Naevius.
- The sudden transition from wooden temporary stages to Pompey’s permanent stone theater in Rome.
Where it lands
The Roman drama eventually lost its vital power as public taste shifted toward the coarser excitement of gladiatorial shows and wild beasts.
For your book club
- Why did the Romans prefer the spirit of Euripides over the works of Sophocles?
- How did the Saturnian metre differ from the Greek-influenced hexameters that eventually replaced it?