Recognizing Persius

By: Kenneth J. Reckford

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Hardcover | 6 October 2009

At a Glance

Hardcover
256 Pages

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23.4 x 15.2 x 241

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Recognizing Persius is a passionate and in-depth exploration of the libellus--or little book--of six Latin satires left by the Roman satirical writer Persius when he died in AD 62 at the age of twenty-seven. In this comprehensive and reflectively personal book, Kenneth Reckford fleshes out the primary importance of this mysterious and idiosyncratic writer. Reckford emphasizes the dramatic power and excitement of Persius''s satires--works that normally would have been recited before a reclining, feasting audience. In highlighting the satires'' remarkable honesty, Reckford shows how Persius converted Roman satire into a vehicle of self-exploration and self-challenge that remains relevant to readers today.

The book explores the foundations of Roman satire as a performance genre: from the dinner-party recitals of Lucilius, the founder of the genre, through Horace, to Persius''s more intense and inward dramatic monologues. Reckford argues that despite satire''s significant public function, Persius wrote his pieces first and mainly for himself. Reckford also provides the context for Persius''s life and work: his social responsibilities as a landowner; the interplay between his life, his Stoic philosophy, and his art; and finally, his incomplete struggle to become an honest and decent human being. Bringing the modern reader to a closer and more nuanced acquaintance with Persius''s work, Recognizing Persius reinstates him to the ranks of the first-rate satirists, alongside Horace and Juvenal.

Industry Reviews

One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2010 "The book retains the informal approach of the original lectures, a shrewd choice since Reckford excels at using the public speaker's panoply to bring his subject to life; by book's end, readers will fell that they not only know Persius better but also understand more deeply his struggle, as a person and as an author, against humanity's foibles and follies."--Choice "Reckford takes his reader through a well-structured overview of the genre, which I believe will be particularly helpful to students just encountering Roman Satire. Because of the scope of this book, therefore, I would strongly recommend it as an introduction not only to Persius but also to the entire genre, for it places Lucilius, Horace, and to some extent Juvenal, in a context that is often elusive, largely because of the very nature of satire."--Patricia A. Johnston, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Literature, Poetry & Plays Poetry History & Criticism of Literature General Literary Studies Classical Literary Studies History Earliest Times to Present Day Ancient History to the Year 500 Literary Studies of Poetry & Poets

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Prologue In Search of Persius	p. 1
Performing Privately	p. 16
"Who'll read this stuff?" (Satire 1)	p. 17
"In Different Voices"	p. 21
Performing satire (1): Lucilius	p. 25
Performing satire (2): Horace	p. 32
Three Bad Performances	p. 39
Persius's Return to the Colors	p. 46
The Choliambics	p. 52
Seeking Integrity	p. 56
Hypocrisy and Self-Deception (Satire 2)	p. 57
Called to Virtue (Satire 3)	p. 63
Where Horace Left Off	p. 68
Division Problems	p. 77
Autobiographical Fragments	p. 82
Images of Dissolution	p. 87
Recomposing a Life	p. 91
Epictetus, Diatribe, and Persius	p. 96
Exploring Freedom	p. 102
Shadows of Falsehood (Satire 4)	p. 103
Modes of Disclosure (Satire 5)	p. 108
"Every Fool a Slave"	p. 118
Another Dissident Under Nero	p. 124
Life, Death, and Art	p. 130
Between Volterra and Rome	p. 131
The Land, the Sea, and the Heir (Satire 6)	p. 136
Reading the libellus: Children and Grown-ups	p. 144
Recognizing Persius	p. 151
Epilogue From Persius to Juvenal	p. 161
Notes	p. 181
Bibliography	p. 219
General Index	p. 233
Index Locorum	p. 237
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Recognizing Persius

At a Glance

Hardcover

Industry Reviews

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How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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