Horace, Epodes

Lindsay Cameron Watson (University of Sydney)

Ed. by William John Dominik, University of Otago
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Jula Wildberger (The American University of Paris)

Dates

First circulation or publication -31 - 30

Places

Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire) (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poem collection

Resources

Horace’s Epodes were composed roughly between 41 and 30 (BC), a time of profound upheaval and bloodshed in the Roman state, a situation which the poems amply reflect. It is disputed whether Horace called his work Iambi or Epodes. Iambi reflects the genre to which the poems belonged, iambic, a literary type known for insult and fierce aggression, obscenity and a readiness to treat matters which would not be thought seemly in more dignified genres. All these characteristics are well represented in Horace’s collection. Epodes, the title by which the poems are generally known, refers to their metrical form, “epode” denoting a type of poetry in which one verse is followed by another of …

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1437 words

Citation: Watson, Lindsay Cameron. "Epodes". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 March 2007 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13380, accessed 24 November 2024.]

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