Classical Literature: Richard Jenkyns (Pelican Books) - Softcover

Jenkyns, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141977353 ISBN 13: 9780141977355

Publisher: Pelican, 2015

Synopsis

What makes Greek and Roman literature great?
How has classical literature influenced Western culture?
What did Greek and Roman authors learn from each other?

Richard Jenkyns is emeritus Professor of the Classical Tradition and the Public Orator at the University of Oxford. His books include Virgil's Experience and The Victorians and Ancient Greece, acclaimed as 'masterly' by History Today.

About this title

Review:

An epic undertaking... the story of how all Western literature came to be... There is a great deal in Jenkyns' book for which to be thankful: most of all his infectious love (Iona McLaren Sunday Telegraph)

From the Back Cover:

Any list of the six greatest European poets would include Virgil, Aeschylus and Homer. A recent history of philosophy named Aristotle and Plato as two of the world's four greatest philosophers. The greatest historian of all is likely to be Thucydides. Why was Ancient Greek and Roman literature so great?

Sweeping across a thousand years, acclaimed professor Richard Jenkyns provides a lucid and lively introduction to the foundation of all Western literature. As Jenkyns shows us, the Greeks were masters of invention - they pioneered nearly all the major literary forms, including epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, and history. The Romans, like us, already felt in the shadow of Greek literature, and, as Jenkyn puts it, they first invented imitation.

In short, engaging chapters, Jenkyns illuminates the most enduring and influential works of the classical world, from the Homeric epics to the golden age of Latin poetry, and explores their unparalleled and continuing influence on Western literature.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pelican
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0141977353
• ISBN 13: 9780141977355
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352