Odes And Carmen Saeculare

At a time of extraordinary political upheaval, Horace wrote poetry and proudly boasted that his Odes were bringing to Rome the metres and subject matter of the Greek lyric poets who had flourished some six centuries earlier. His achievement ensured that the Odes remained unique in Latin literature, and they have continued to be read and loved for two thousand years. Horace’s metrical diversity is fundamental to his artistry, so these translations recreate the original thirteen metres in English. They are written in elegant verse which is always alert to the poems’ structure, register, rhetoric, sound and syntax. Special attention is given to the nuanced meanings of words in their context and to the implications of Horace’s often highly unusual word-order—no Roman ever spoke such Latin, except when reading the Odes aloud. The translations are supported by a wide-ranging introduction, which provides biographical, historical and literary context, and shows several ways in which the Odes can respond to literary analysis. The extensive notes constitute a commentary on all the poems, drawing the reader from the translations to the facing text of Horace’s Latin, and offering brief discussions of textual, literary, linguistic, metrical, historical, geographical, mythological and religious issues. Students and general readers will find the tools here to help them develop their own personal response to Horace’s exceptional poetry, while teachers will welcome the opportunity to compare poems across all four books of the Odes in equal detail.

This is the first full English commentary since the 19th century, suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate students.

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Horace's Odes enjoys a long tradition of translation into English, most famously in versions that seek to replicate the quantitative rhythms of the Latin verse in rhymed quatrains. Stanley Lombardo, one of our preeminent translators of classical literature, now gives us a Horace for our own day that focuses on the dynamics, sense, and tone of the Odes, while still respecting its architectonic qualities. In addition to notes on each of the odes, Anthony Corbeill offers an Introduction that sketches the poet's tumultuous political and literary careers, highlights the Odes' intricate construction and thematic breadth, and identifies some qualities of this work that shed light on a disputed question in its reception: Are these poems or lyrics? This dual-language edition will prove a boon to students of classical civilization, Roman literature, and lovers of one of the great masters of Latin verse.