Empire of Letters - Writing in Roman Literature and Thought From Lucretius to Ovid

Uniting close readings of major authors of the late Republic and early Empire with the careful analysis of the material forms that Roman writing took-papyrus scrolls, waxed tablets, and monumental inscriptions in stone and bronze-Empire of Letters provides new ways of imagining the history of the book in the pre-modern world, showing how writing was essential to ancient Roman beliefs and practice.

List of contents

• Acknowledgements


• List of Figures


• Introduction: More Than Words


• Chapter 1: Classics and the Study of the Book


• Chapter 2: Writing and Identity


• Chapter 3: The Text of the World


• Chapter 4: Tablets of Memory


• Chapter 5: The Roman Poetry Book


• Chapter 6: Ovid and the Inscriptions


• Conclusion: Texts and Objects


• References


• Index locorum


• Index

About the author

Stephanie Ann Frampton is a classicist, comparatist, and historian of the book in antiquity. She is Associate Professor of Literature at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Summary

Uniting close readings of major authors of the late Republic and early Empire with the careful analysis of the material forms that Roman writing took-papyrus scrolls, waxed tablets, and monumental inscriptions in stone and bronze-Empire of Letters provides new ways of imagining the history of the book in the pre-modern world, showing how writing was essential to ancient Roman beliefs and practice.

Additional text

Frampton explores the fascinating minutiae of the physical act of writing in Roman antiquity. For those of us who love the Roman literary tradition,Empire of Lettersimmerses us in the grit and gravel of Lucretius' and Virgil's tools of the trade, giving classically-minded readers the delightful opportunity to feel the papyrus and smell the wax.

Product details

• Authors: Stephanie Frampton, Stephanie Ann Frampton, Stephanie Ann (Associate Professor of Cl Frampton, Stephanie Ann (Associate Professor of Li Frampton, Stephanie Ann (Associate Professor of Literature Frampton
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 28.02.2019
• EAN: 9780190915407
• ISBN: 978-0-19-091540-7
• No. of pages: 224
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Antiquity; Non-fiction book > History > Pre and early history, antiquity; HISTORY / Ancient / General, LITERARY CRITICISM / Ancient & Classical, LITERARY COLLECTIONS / Ancient & Classical, Classical texts, Literary studies: classical, early & medieval, Ancient History, Archaeology by period / region, Ancient history: to c 500 CE, Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval