Cicero and the Early Latin Poets

Author: Čulík-Baird, (H.)
Title: Cicero and the Early Latin Poets
Place edition: Cambridge
Editor: Cambridge University Press
Year edition: 2022
Pages: 306
Keywords: Poesia - Poesie - Poetry
Review:

David Butterfield, Classical Review, 73-2, 2023 ; Adalberto Magnavacca, «Ciceroniana On Line» VII, 1, 2023, pp. 241-244.

Description: The writings of Cicero contain hundreds of quotations of Latin poetry. This book examines his citations of Latin poets writing in diverse poetic genres and demonstrates the importance of poetry as an ethical, historical, and linguistic resource in the late Roman Republic. Hannah Čulík-Baird studies Cicero's use of poetry in his letters, speeches, and philosophical works, contextualizing his practice within the broader intellectual trends of contemporary Rome. Cicero's quotations of the 'classic' Latin poets, such as Ennius, Pacuvius, Accius, and Lucilius, are responsible for preserving the most significant fragments of verse from the second century BCE. The book also therefore examines the process of fragmentation in classical antiquity, with particular attention to the relationship between quotation and fragmentation. The Appendices collect perceptible instances of poetic citation (Greek as well as Latin) in the Ciceronian corpus [Editor].
Author initials: Čulík-Baird 2022