This article provides an analysis of the syntactical and metrical alignment of the subject pronoun of the first person singular in Latin epic. Based on the observation that, due to its prosody,
Men are shouting, the rigging strains and screeches, Heavy waves slap down waves, thunder crashes. The sea seems to run up to the sky itself And touch the scudding clouds with its salt spray. Now the waves churn up yellow sand from the bottom, Now they are blacker than the waters of Styx And then fl atten out and whiten with hissing foam. (11.577-83) L.'s translation would work excellently in an undergraduate literature class introducing students to Ovid and his work, especially with those students who are generally hesitant about approaching poetry of this length. It would also work well in a class discussion of translation theory and techniques.
considers the poetic structure of the Carmen paschale, its nature as 'epic' and the potential importance of the Psalms as a model for the author (see p. 373). Section 5 concludes the volume and offers a definition of the Carmen paschale as 'poetic edification', based on its rhetorical foundations and response to patristic exegesis. D.'s commentary presents an impressive array of new evidence to consider. There is already much here to redirect our reading of the poem in light of the biblical narrative, and it remains to be seen how this commentary will reshape current discussions of Biblical Epic. On the one hand, it is clear that Sedulian studies are following the two dominant streams of research on 'epic' and 'paraphrase', but D. has brought new and needed attention to the Bible as the obvious and ultimate source of inspiration for the poet. As he says, the measure of 'the presbyter Sedulius' is as a communicator of the biblical message, and the principal interest among scholars is shifting from the focus on epic and/or paraphrase to the relationship between Sedulius as poet and priest, and how this dichotomy informs the complex, spiritual messages we read in the Carmen paschale.
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