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M. Garani, Empedocles Redivivus: Poetry and Analogy in Lucretius

M. Garani, Empedocles Redivivus: Poetry and Analogy in Lucretius

Publié le par Frédérique Fleck (Source : BMCR)


Myrto Garani, Empedocles Redivivus: Poetry and Analogy in Lucretius, London/New York: Routledge, coll. "Studies in Classics", 2007.  xii, 324 pages.

  • ISBN 9780415988490.  
  • $95.00.  

Recension par Bill Gladhill (McGill University) dans Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2009.05.24.

Extraits en ligne sur le site de l'éditeur, sur books.google et sur amazon.co.uk.

Présentation de l'éditeur:

Despite the general scholarly consensus about Lucretius' debt toEmpedocles as the father of the genre of cosmological didactic epic,there is a major disagreement regarding Lucretius' applause for hisPresocratic predecessor's praeclara reperta (DRN 1.732). In the presentstudy, Garani suggests that by praising Empedocles' discoveries,Lucretius points to his predecessor's epistemological methods ofinquiry concerning the unseen, methods upon which he himself drawsextensively and creatively enhances. In this way, he successfullypenetrates into the invisible natural world, deciphers its secrets, andthus liberates his pupil from superstitious fears about death andphysical phenomena. To justify this proposition, Garani undertakes asystematic analysis of Lucretius' integration of Empedocles' methods ofcreating analogies in the form of literary devices -- personifications,similes, and metaphors -- and demonstrates that his intertextualengagement with Empedocles' philosophical poem is direct and intensiveat both the poetic and the philosophical levels.

Table des matières:

Introduction

Chapter One: Personification

Chapter Two: Similes

Chapter Three: Metaphors

Epilogue

Notes

List of Translations

Bibliography

Index