report on horace's ars poetica

ARS POETICAQUINTUS HORATIUS FLACCUS

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori It is sweet and fitting

to die for one's country

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dulce_et_decorum_est_pro_patria_mori




QUINTUS HORATIUS FLACCUS(DECEMBER 8, 65 BC – NOVEMBER 27, 8 BC)

• Horace • leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian).

• Horace also crafted elegant hexameter verses (Sermones and Epistles) and caustic iambic poetry (Epodes).


Horace was born in Venusia, son of a freedman who made a good living for himself and acquired a small estate. Horace was taken by his father to Rome, where he was sent to the best schools.


At 18, he was caught up in Greece in the civil wars following the assassination of Caesar, and fought at Philippi on the wrong side. He was pardoned, but when he got back to Rome he found that his father’s estate had been confiscated.


He became a civil service clerk, and in his spare time wrote verses which caught the eye of Virgil, who introduced him to his own patron. Between his farm and a house in Rome, Horace lived out his existence as a bachelor.

Horace's poetry is important historically because it reflects the mood of the Roman empire at a time of peace following a long period of civil wars.

Horace's poetry -lyric poetry comprises his seventeen Epodes, and 103 Odes in four books.

-on a variety of political and satirical themes, with a few love poems.

Horace's poetry - Most are written in an iambic metre, a longer line being followed by a shorter one, which is known as the “epode”, or after song.

- The first three books of odes were written between 33 and 23 BC, and reflect the events of the time.

ARS POETICAQUINTUS HORATIUS FLACCUS

ARS POETICAEPISTLE TO THE PISOS

GENERAL INFO ABOUT “ARS POETICA”

• Letter of advice in verse to two sons of LUCIUS CALPURNIUS PISO (Roman Senator and Consul)

• Aimed to blend witty reminders and sage maxims in an entertaining way: many lines of which became “catch phrases” or proverbs

•Horace approaches poetry from a practical standpoint.

Most important literary phrases:•"In media res": in the middle of things. According to Horace, this makes the audience more hooked. Useful for the plot construction.

•"Ab ovo": From the beginning. Starting a story from its commencement will call the attention of the audience.

Most important literary phrases:•"Quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus": Sometimes, even the good poets make mistakes.

•"Ut pictura poesis": As is painting, so is poetry. Both could mean "imaginative texts”.

Most important literary phrases:•“Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.”

Traditionally divided into 3 Parts:•Lines 1 to 41 – On poesis or subect matter

•Lines 42 to 294 – On poema or technique

•Lines 295 to 476 – On poeta or the poet

1-23 – Unity and simplicity are necessary in a poem.24-37 – We, who would be poets, must guard against all extremes.38-44 – We must well consider our powers before we write.

“If in a picture, Piso, you should seea handsome woman with a fish’s taleor a man’s head upon a horse’s neck

or limbs of beasts of the most different kindscovered with feathers of all sorts of birds

would you not laugh, and think the painter mad?”

LITERARY MAXIMS & CATCHPHRASES

45-72 – We may coin new words when necessary, but this must be done with care: words, like all other things, are subject to change.73-85 – The various kinds of poetry: epic, elegiac, dramatic, lyric.

“New words are good words, no matter who makes them,If Greek gets poured into Latin, but drop by drop.Who the hell is Plautus, to haveWhat Virgil and Varius cannot?”

86-98 – We must suit our style to the different kinds of poetry.99-118 – The words also must be suitable to the character in whose mouth the poet puts them.

119-152 – A writer should follow the traditions of the Muse; or, if he strikes out something new, must be consistent. No better guide can we follow than Homer.153-178 – A writer too should observe the characteristics of each age of man.179-188 – Some things should be represented on the stage, others related to the spectators.189-201 – Certain rules not to be transgressed. The role of the Chorus.202-219 – Of the music of the stage, and how it changes with the fortunes and manners of the people.

220-250 – The Satyric drama, which accompanied the tragedy, is not the same as comedy, and has its rules and wholesome restraints.251-274 – On the Iambic and Spondee. The Greek taste is to be followed, rather than the license of the Roman poets, in respect to meter.275-294 – The origin of tragedy & its development. To it succeeded the old comedy – vigorous, but scurrilous. The Latin poets deserve some praise, but their great fault is their careless, slovenly style.295-308 – Genius cannot afford to dispense with the rules of art. The critic has his place in literature.

309-322 – Knowledge is the foundation of good writing. Poetry without sense is but a harmonious trifling.323-333 – The Greeks had genius; the Romans are a money-getting race.334-346 – The object of the poet should be to give instruction and delight.347-360 – We do not expect perfection in a poem, but we do expect care and pains.361-365 – A short comparison between poetry and painting.366-390 – Mediocrity in poetry is insufferable – For this reason, be careful before you publish.

391-407 – The origins and office of poetry in early days.408-418 – Genius is necessary for a poet – and yet, without art and study, genius will fail.419-452 – Let poets avoid flatterers. Quinctilius was an honest friend, whose mission it was to tell an author unpleasant truths.453-476 – A poet goes as mad as Empedocles; let all beware of him and keep out of the way of one who will not be helped.

AUT PRODESSE AUT DELECTARETHE ULTIMATE AIM OF POETRY

Characteristics (General)•Consistency as the highest virtue of poetry. "A work that attempts to be one thing, now another, is eventually being nothing at all"-Horace

•Authors must maintain the same tone throughout a work.

DECORUMThe Use of appropriate vocabulary and

diction in each style of writing

purple prosePURPUREUS PANNUS

Use of flowery language inapproriately

Characteristics (General)•Authors should not attempt subjects that are beyond their powers.

•Each incident and word in a poem should be chosen with care.

Drama (Characteristics)

He gives his views on drama under three heads: Plot, Characterization, Style

Drama (Characteristics)•1) Plot: Borrow from familiar material in which the author can distinguish himself. If the poet chooses a new theme he has to remain consistent throughout. The events should also be consistent (Indivisible structure).

Drama (Characteristics)•2) Characterization: Characters must be consistent in what they say, must preserve their traditional traits and must fit their ages.

Drama (Characteristics)•3) Style: Different tones must be used for different moods and personalities.

The middle should harmonize with the

beginning and the end with the middle

DEUS EX MACHINA

•Horace thought the iambic meter is the most suitable because it is the most spoken than any other meter. In this one, the second syllable is spoken louder so it is audible to the audience.

•Comic themes should not be treated in a lofty vein of tragedy and tragic themes in the low of comedy.

•Horace takes the progress of Drama in Greece , from the uncultivated days to the time of great masters which were more refined.

•The Roman drama began in 240 BC with the plays Livius Andronicus

•No early Roman tragedies survive. From the time of the empire the work of two tragedians survive, one is an unknown author while the other one is Seneca.

It would be impossible to overestimate the importance of Horace's Ars Poetica for the subsequent history of literary

criticism. Since its composition in the first century BC, this epigrammatic and sometimes enigmatic critical

poem has exerted an almost continual influence over poets and literary critics alike - perhaps because its dicta,

phrased in verse form, are so eminently quotable. Horace's injunction that poetry should both "instruct and delight" has been repeated so often that it has come to

be known as the Horatian platitude.

report on horace's ars poetica

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