The fiction of truth in Manilius' Astronomica
The poetic treatment of technical matters is a topic quickly discussed in some ancient critical traditions and, sometimes, within the very discourse of a few didactic poets. This is the case of Manilius, who in his Astronomica presents us as a master a persona doctoris for whom the poetic ornamentat...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Online |
| Language: | Portuguese |
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Universidade Estadual de Campinas
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://econtents.sbu.unicamp.br/inpec/index.php/phaos/article/view/17241 |
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| Summary: | The poetic treatment of technical matters is a topic quickly discussed in some ancient critical traditions and, sometimes, within the very discourse of a few didactic poets. This is the case of Manilius, who in his Astronomica presents us as a master a persona doctoris for whom the poetic ornamentation of the technical matter represents, conflictuously, a material impossibility, a metrical difficulty, and a didactic need. Besides, being a sophisticated form of pleasure for the poet, the metrical exposition of the more complex mathematical objects of astrology, which seduce him in a particular way, is an occasion for putting into practice certain poetic variations that sometimes lead him, inadvertently, to produce technically incorrect lessons. To address these points, I here present a brief introduction to some of the questions about ancient didactic poetry and to the reading of Manilius' poem (generally little known among Brazilian students of Classics), together with an exposition of some important excerpts of his metapoetic output and an illustration of one of his technical errors. |
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| ISSN: | 1676-3076 |
