The Poet and the Prince: Ovid and Augustan Discourse (Joan Palevsky Classical Literature Book)

In this fresh assessment of Ovid's fascinating poem Fasti, Alessandro Barchiesi provides a new vision of the interaction between Ovid and the renowned ruler Augustus. Fasti, a poem about the holidays and feast days of the Roman calendar, was written while Ovid was in Rome and revised while he was in exile on the barbarian frontier, banished by Augustus from the cultured society of Rome. Ovid's work in exile evinces complicated motives; he addresses Augustus and begs him to lift the despised exile, but at the same time covertly critiques Augustus's "New Rome." Although recent scholarship has concentrated on the oppositions between poet and ruler revealed in Ovid's work, Barchiesi's analysis transcends the opposition of pro-Augustan or anti-Augustan readings. In a lively, vigorous narrative that relies on close textual analysis, Barchiesi underscores the important poetic choices as well as the political considerations made by Ovid in Fasti. Ultimately, his analysis leads us to a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between patrons and poets. Both scholars and general readers will find a newly meaningful and interesting Ovid in these pages. Translated with revisions from Il poeta e il principe: Ovido e il discorso Augusteo (1994). In this fresh assessment of Ovid's fascinating poem Fasti, Alessandro Barchiesi provides a new vision of the interaction between Ovid and the renowned ruler Augustus. Fasti, a poem about the holidays and feast days of the Roman calendar, was written while Ovid was in Rome and revised while he was in exile on the barbarian frontier, banished by Augustus from the cultured society of Rome. Ovid's work in exile evinces complicated motives; he addresses Augustus and begs him to lift the despised exile, but at the same time covertly critiques Augustus's "New Rome". Although recent scholarship has concentrated on the oppositions between poet and ruler revealed in Ovid's work, Barchiesi's analysis transcends the opposition of pro-Augustan or anti-Augustan readings.In a lively, vigorous narrative that relys on close textual analysis, Barchiesi underscores the important poetic choices as well as the political considerations made by Ovid in Fasti. Ultimately, his analysis leads us to a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between patrons and poets. Both scholars and general readers will find a newly meaningful and interesting Ovid in these pages. Translated with revisions from Il poeta e il principe: Ovido e il discorso Augusteo (1994). Alessandro Barchiesi transcends the opposition of Augustan and anti-Augustan readings of Ovid's work. Leading the reader through detailed assessments of and varied perspectives on Ovid's fascinating poem - a work shaped by important poetic choices and political considerations - Barchiesi reveals the poem to be far more than an antiquarian curiosity. He points to the use of Ovid as a poetic figure by modern writers around the globe, such as Antonio Tabucchi, Christoph Ransmayr, and David Malouf. Both scholars and general readers will find a newly meaningful and interesting Ovid in these pages Ovid's Fasti, a "calendar poem" on the holidays and feast days of the Roman calendar, was written in Rome and revised while Ovid was in exile on the barbarian frontier, banished by Augustus from the cultivated society of Rome that had been his delight. Ovid's work in exile evinces complicated motives; he addresses Augustus and begs him to lift the despised exile, but at the same time Ovid covertly critiques Augustus's "New Rome." Recent scholarship has concentrated on the oppositions between poet and ruler revealed in Ovid's work Alessandro Barchiesi. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 273-281) And Indexes.