An ambiguous panegyric or a hyperbole? A literary portrait of Domitian in Silvae by Statius
An ambiguous panegyric or a hyperbole? A literary portrait of Domitian in Silvae by Statius

Summary/Abstract: Contemporary literary judgment of Silvae seems to be varied, however in most cases it is negative. Statius is accused of overloading his works with rhetoric and mannerism and lacking of originality. Moreover, his works are said to put the reader in amazement by means of their peculiar baroque horror vacui. The majority of critics support J.H. Mozley’s words found in the introductory notes to the 1928 Loeb edition of Silvae and the Thebaid: “Of Statius’ inequality as a poet it is hardly necessary to speak; he suffers from lack of judgement, rising now to the wildest heights of exaggeration and bombast, and now sinking to trivial and absurd details”. One can hardly encounter moderate opinions like those of M. von Albrecht: “Within Roman literature Statius was the founder of both a court poetry and a private occasional poetry, laying claim to literary excellence. This achievement was of pioneering importance to the further development of poetry in late antiquity and Renaissance”. However, there are also classicists who consider Silvae the most important work of Statius. They describe it as much better than the Thebaid and the Achilleid epics, especially considering its artistry.

• Details
• Contents