Three Classical Poets

Download or read book Three Classical Poets written by Richard Jenkyns and published by Bloomsbury Academic. This book was released on 1982 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this engaging essay Richard Jenkyns shows us how to read three quite different ancient poets. In a close and sensitive reading of Sappho, Catullus, and Juvenal, Jenkyns delineates the uniqueness of the poet's individual voice in relation to poetic traditions. His book constitutes a challenge to the view that one method will suffice for the interpretation of ancient poetry. He seeks to demonstrate that we can have no substitute for flexible and humane judgment, liberated from critical dogma, if we are to understand the great writers of the past. It is Jenkyns' appealing habit to clarify and illustrate his points by drawing analogies from modern and ancient literature. He deploys his wide learning with agility and grace.