An important contribution to the growing interdisciplinary field of monster studies

The political aspects of Augustan poetry have attracted much academic interest. The aim of this study is to take account of the effects of Augustan propaganda not only on the work of contemporary Roman writers, but also on the critical tradition itself. The six essays presented in this volume explore the political themes in the work of major poets such as Virgil, Ovid, Horace and Propertius. Using traditional as well as post-structuralist approaches, the essays examine the controversies of the Civil Wars, the emerging issues of treason and free speech and changing representations of Cleopatra and female power.

In this book seventeen leading scholars examine the interaction between historiography and poetry in the Augustan age: how poets drew on — or reacted against — historians’ presentation of the world, and how, conversely, historians transformed poetic themes for their own ends.

Identifies and explores Roman modes of poetry as received by twentieth- and twenty-first-century Anglo-American, German, and French poets.

Explores the dynamic interactions among Latin poets, artists, and audiences in constructing and critiquing imperial power in Augustan Rome.