The Anxieties Of Pliny the Younger

by Stanley E. Hoffer

Overview

This book provides a new understanding of Pliny's letters by combining historical analysis of the social pressures that shape Pliny's authorial pose with close literary analysis of the letters themselves. It demonstrates how ruling-class ideology is disseminated and how it shapes the literary persona and personal identity of a ruling-class member. The powerful heuristic tool of examining the interplay between confidence and anxieties in the letters will help restore Pliny's relatively neglected masterpiece to a more prominent place in undergraduate Latin and Roman Civilization courses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780788505652
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/01/1999
Series:	Society for Classical Studies American Classical Studies , #43
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	9.22(w) x 5.96(h) x 0.84(d)

Editorial Reviews

Finds beneath the steadily cheery surface of Pliny's published letters evidence of both conscious and unconscious tension in his upper-class Roman life. They relate to the broad and interrelated dimensions of politics, friendship, literature, and material conditions. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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