Tag Archives: Horace

Love and the Romans, III

Posted on February 20, 2015 by

The central role of rhetoric in an educated Roman’s life cannot be overstated at this point. Schooled in it from childhood, every Roman male knew it was his duty to articulate the sentiments of the state, and in his best … Continue reading →

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Love and the Romans, II

Posted on February 20, 2015 by

The great period of the love elegy, in which our five poets thrived, is actually quite brief. One hundred years, roughly, takes us from Catullus’ birth, around 84 BC, to Ovid’s death, in exile in Tomis in AD17. Within about … Continue reading →

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Love and the Romans, I

Posted on February 20, 2015 by

(This is the text of the talk I gave on St Valentine’s Day at the McManus, Dundee, to accompany their marvellous exhibition of Roman artefacts. I’ve divided it into three parts.) In the play, ‘The Invention of Love’, Tom Stoppard … Continue reading →

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hotching in heteronyms

Posted on March 26, 2007 by

(This is evidently a review I did, possibly for Poetry Review, certainly back in January 2002. I like Pessoa a lot more than it would appear to suggest, so I was talking more about contemporary lazy smartnesses.) Ah, heteronyms, those … Continue reading →

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