Word and Context in Latin Poetry

This volume of essays is intended to commemorate the eminent Latin scholar David West, best known for his work on Lucretius, Horace, Virgil, and Shakespeare. The contributors – Francis Cairns, Ian Du Quesnay, Bruce Gibson, Alex Hardie, Stephen Harrison, John Moles, and Tony Woodman – have aimed to produce close readings of classical texts, paying due attention to historical context and literary tradition in the manner adopted by David West himself. The authors covered are Empedocles, Antisthenes, Callimachus, Lutatius Catulus, Catullus, Horace (Epodes and Odes), Propertius, Virgil (Aeneid), Dio Chrysostom, and Hildebert of Lavardin.

Table of Contents

1. Epigrams by Lutatius Catulus (fr. 1) and Callimachus (AP 12.73 = 4 HE) - Francis Cairns.
2. Contextualising Catullus: a re-examination of 66.1-14 - Ian M. Le M. Du Quesnay.
3 Vinous voices: Horace’s ninth Epode - Tony Woodman.
4. The formation of an Augustan elegist: Empedocles and Propertius’ ‘Monobiblos’ - Alex Hardie.
5. Horace’s Hymn to Bacchus (Odes 2.19): politics and poetics - Stephen Harrison.
6. Romane, memento: Antisthenes, Dio and Virgil on the education of the strong - John Moles.
7. Hildebert of Lavardin and the idea of ruin - Bruce Gibson.