A Companion to the Prologue of Apuleius' Metamorphoses
Published on 13. December 2001
Book
Hardback
342 pages
978-0-19-815238-5 (ISBN)
Description
Nowadays we can judge books by their covers. In antiquity, when a 'book' was a papyrus roll, its first few words advertised the nature of the text to follow. The Prologue of Apuleius' innovative novel, the Metamorphoses (or Golden Ass), is an extraordinary example of a programmatic opening, which has captivated readers and scholars from the Renaissance to the present day. This short text raises a variety of important questions about liberty, and about historical and linguistic interpretation.
Along with a new text and translation of the Prologue, the twenty-four discussions in this volume, commissioned from internationally known specialists, cover issues ranging from philosophy and cultural history to intertextuality and Latinity. This collection of essays combines the broader perspectives of an interdisciplinary anthology with the closer focus of a traditional commentary. As a model for collaborative work, it displays the strength and diversity of existing approaches to ancient texts and is designed to stimulate new developments in the study of classics and later literatures.
Along with a new text and translation of the Prologue, the twenty-four discussions in this volume, commissioned from internationally known specialists, cover issues ranging from philosophy and cultural history to intertextuality and Latinity. This collection of essays combines the broader perspectives of an interdisciplinary anthology with the closer focus of a traditional commentary. As a model for collaborative work, it displays the strength and diversity of existing approaches to ancient texts and is designed to stimulate new developments in the study of classics and later literatures.
Reviews / Votes
One of the most extraordinary projects of recent times. * Greece & Rome * The format, provides real benefits, allowing for a more diverse exploration of the issues than a typical commentary, with each chapter teasing out a little more fully the dynamics of the Prologue and the remarkable novel it introduces * Helen L. Morales, Times Literary Supplement *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
617 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-815238-5 (9780198152385)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Content
Introduction ; 1. The Prologue to Apuleius' Metamorphoses: Text, Translation, and Textual Commentary ; 2. Cola and Clausulae in to Apuleius' Metamorphoses 1.1 ; 3. Some Linguistic Points in the Prologue ; 4. Apuleius' Prologue and the Anxieties of Philosophers ; 5. Reflections of the African Character of Apuleius ; 6. The Hiding Author: Context and Implication ; 7. Argutia Nilotici Calami: A Theocritean Reed ; 8. Apuleius and Persius ; 9. Apuleius and Luke: Prologue and Epilogue in Conversion Contexts ; 10. Prologue and Provenance: Quis Ille? or Unde Ille? ; 11. Why Isthmos Ephyrea? ; 12. Prologic, Predecessors and Prohibitions ; 13. Fiction and History in Apuleius' Milesian Prologue ; 14. The Prologues of the Greek Novels and Apuleius ; 15. Quis Ille?: The Role of the Prologue in Apuleius Metamorphoses. ; 16. Losing the Author's Voice: Cultural and Personal Identities in the Metamorphoses. ; 17. In Ya (Pre)face ; 18. The Prologue as a Pseudo-Dialogue and the Identity of Its Main Speaker ; 19. The Horizons of Reading ; 20. Writing with Style: The Prologue to Apuleius' Metamorphoses between fingierte Mundlichkeit and Textuality ; 21. Antiquity's Future: Writing, Speech and Representation in the Prologue to Apuleius' Metamorphoses ; 22. Quis ille...lector?: Addressee(s) in the Prologue and Throughout the Metamorphoses ; 23. From Prologue to Story: Metaphor and Narrative Construction in the Opening of the Metamorphoses ; 24. Paradox and Transcendence: The Prologue as the End. ; Envoi ; Bibliography ; Index