Roman Satire
By: Michael Coffey.
Edition: 2nd ed.
Publisher: Bristol Classical Press
Published: 1989
Place of publication: Bristol
Language: eng
Number of pages: 306
Subjects: Satire, Latin -- History and criticism; Rome in literature
Description: "This study appraises the work of all the Roman satirists, from the 2nd century BC, to the end of the reign of Hadrian in AD 138. The satirists' work is shown to reflect the constantly changing society in which they lived, and its topics range from the morally earnest to the bawdy. Certain themes are examined which are common to some degree to all the satirists - autobiographical revelation, personal invective, political and ethical judgements and literary criticism. The book provides an exposition of the tradition of verse satire from Lucilius through Horace and Persius to Juvenal, with an assessment of the structure and distinctive literary quality of each satire. It discusses satire in the Menippean tradition, a composite form of prose and verse which was used first by Varro, then by Petronius and by Seneca in his Apocolocyntosis, a comical and malicious satire on the deification of the emperor Claudius."--Bloomsbury Publishing

This study appraises the work of all the Roman satirists, from the 2nd century BC, to the end of the reign of Hadrian in AD 138. The satirists' work is shown to reflect the constantly changing society in which they lived, and its topics range from the morally earnest to the bawdy. Certain themes are examined which are common to some degree to all the satirists - autobiographical revelation, personal invective, political and ethical judgements and literary criticism. The book provides an exposition of the tradition of verse satire from Lucilius through Horace and Persius to Juvenal, with an assessment of the structure and distinctive literary quality of each satire. It discusses satire in the Menippean tradition, a composite form of prose and verse which was used first by Varro, then by Petronius and by Seneca in his "Apocolocyntosis", a comical and malicious satire on the deification of the emperor Claudius
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 281-291) and index.