Carpe Diem: The Poetics of Presence in Greek and Latin Literature

by Robert A. Rohland

Overview

Carpe diem – 'eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die!' – is a prominent motif throughout ancient literature and beyond. This is the first book-length examination of its significance and demonstrates that close analysis can make a key contribution to a question that is central to literary studies in and beyond Classics: how can poetry give us the almost magical impression that something is happening here and now? In attempting an answer, Robert Rohland gives equal attention to Greek and Latin texts, as he offers new interpretations of well-known poems from Horace and tackles understudied epigrams. Pairing close readings of ancient texts along with interpretations of other forms of cultural production such as gems, cups, calendars, monuments, and Roman wine labels, this interdisciplinary study transforms our understanding of the motif of carpe diem.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009040983
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	12/01/2022
Series:	Cambridge Classical Studies
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Robert A. Rohland is a Junior Research Fellow (under Title A) at Trinity College Cambridge. His research focuses on two forms of ancient poetry: lyric and epigram, with equal attention to Greek and Latin material. He is also particularly interested in analysing poetry along other forms of ancient cultural production, such as artworks or calendars.

Table of Contents

1. The archaeology of Carpe Diem: Sardanapallus, monuments, epigrams, and false beginnings; 2. A moveable feast: Wine storage-places as drinkable calendars in Horace; 3. Gathering leaves: Horace, choice of words, cyclical time, and the production of presence; 4. The pleasure of images: Epigrams and objects 100 ʙᴄ – ᴀᴅ 100; 5. As is the generation of leaves, so are the generations of cows, mice, and gigolos…: Excerpe Diem! or excerpts of 'Carpe Diem'.