Horace: Epistles Book II and Ars Poetica (Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics) - Tapa dura

"Rudd has performed a valuable service in bringing us into the 1990's on the Literary Epistles of Horace, carefully assessing the monumental research of C.O. Brink and assimilating it ably, but with independence, to the purposes of this commentary. As a result, we now have the best and most up-to-date analysis of these three important poems that is available in any language, let alone English." Classical World

This commentary fulfils the need for a student edition of Horace's literary epistles, which have recently been the subject of renewed scholarly interest. Professor Rudd provides a clear introduction to each of the three poems: the Epistles to Augustus, to Florus, and to the Pisones (the so-called 'Ars Poetica'). He sketches the historical context in which the poems were written, and comments on their structure and purpose. Attention is paid to the literary preoccupations of the individual epistles: the relations of poet and patron, and the role of poetry in the state (Augustus), the problems of a (professedly) tiring poet (Florus), and the presentation of classical poetic theory in the 'Ars Poetica'. Horace's influence on later criticism is noted, and there is a brief section on one of Alexander Pope's Imitations. In his commentary on the text Professor Rudd addresses problems of grammar and style, focusing on linguistic difficulties and on the subtle movement of the poet's thought.