Roman poets: Roman drama and poetry, contribution to world literature

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The literature of Ancient Rome had a considerable influence on the formation and development of both Russian and world literature. Roman literature itself originated from Greek: Roman poets wrote poems and plays, imitating the Greeks. After all, it was quite difficult to create something new in a modest Latin language, when hundreds of plays were already written very close by: the inimitable epic of Homer, Hellenic mythology, poems and legends.

The birth of Roman literature

The first steps in the development of poetry are associated with the introduction of Greek culture in the Roman Empire. The direction of lyric poetry has become widespread. Thanks to Greek writers and thinkers, Roman poetry acquired the sensuality and feelings of a lyrical hero behind whom stands the author of the work.

The first Roman writer

The pioneer in the literature of Ancient Rome, the first Roman poet wasLivy Andronicus is an ethnic Greek, a native of the city of Tarentum. He began to show his talent as a child, but when the Romans captured his hometown, he fell into slavery and remained a slave for quite a long time, teaching literature and writing to the offspring of his owner. For good services, the gentleman presented Livius Andronicus with a free letter, and he was able to fully engage in literary work.

It was Andronicus, the first Roman poet, who translated Homer's Iliad from Greek into Latin, he also translated Greek tragedies, plays and dramas. And once the college of pontiffs instructed him to write a hymn glorifying the goddess Juno.

Livy Andronicus did not translate exactly - he allowed himself to change names, scenes and dialogues.

Nevius and Ennius

Contemporaries of Livius Andronicus were such Roman poets as Nevius and Ennius. Nevius in his work preferred tragedies and comedies, often borrowed plots from Greek writers and adapted them to the culture and life of Ancient Rome. His most important work was a poem about the first Punic War, in which he also briefly told the history of the Roman Empire. Ennius described the history of Rome in detail - with dates and facts.

Nevius is a Roman poet whose poem became the first original literary work of Ancient Rome. He can rightfully be considered one of the most famous writers of antiquity.

The actor who wrote poetry

Titus made no less contribution to the development of Roman literature and poetryMaccius Plautus - theater actor. He lived at the end of the 3rd - beginning of the 2nd century. BC e. and throughout his life he wrote about 300 poems, 20 of which have survived to this day. And although he worked exclusively in the comedy genre, his plays were staged in theaters throughout the Roman Empire even after his death.

The plots of his works are not very original, but always exciting and varied. He wrote both about the everyday life of ordinary citizens and about the life of a soldier's barracks. And always in his plays there were slaves, as a rule, resourceful, smart and dexterous.

Roman poet and satirist Titus Maccius Plautus is also considered one of the first writers of ancient Rome and occupies not the last place in its history.

Golden Latin Age

Another prominent representative of early Roman literature was Tacitus, a Roman poet, author of the Annals. Together with the "Punic War" of Nevius, the "Annals" became the most significant and great work of literature of Ancient Rome.

The Aeneid written by Virgil is considered to be the pinnacle of the Roman epic. All Roman poets praised it as the best work of the reign of Octavian Augustus.

Many have also compared it with the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer, although unlike them, the Aeneid is a poem about the future rather than the past. The Roman poet Virgil tells in his poem about the wanderings and adventures of the legendary Aeneas, whose descendants the citizens of the Roman Empire considered themselves to be. It also tells about the novel of the protagonist with Dido, the queen of Carthage,which he was forced to leave on the orders of the main god of the Roman pantheon - Jupiter, in order to initiate the existence of Rome.

Lyrics of Ancient Rome

The founder of the lyrics in the literature of ancient Rome was the talented poet Catullus. For the most part, he wrote lyrical love sonnets. The poem about the love of the Roman poet for the beautiful Clodia, the famous secular lady of Ancient Rome, became especially famous. Catullus managed to reflect in his work all the shades of love: from delight and admiration, to torment and burning longing.

But the lyrics reached their climax in the work of the no less famous Roman poet Horace. Glory to him was brought by his magnificent "Odes" - four books of poems with different themes. Horace wrote, unlike Catullus, not only about love. In his works, he paid a lot of attention to Octavian Augustus, singing and glorifying his mind and the strength of Roman weapons, life and friendship.

Often Horace satirically ridiculed the manners of his contemporaries.

Love songs

One of the most gifted Roman writers along with Horace and Virgil is considered to be Ovid, their younger contemporary. Being already a famous Roman poet, Ovid wrote such works as "The Art of Love" and "The Remedy for Love", which have successfully survived to this day. And he was glorified by his early poems, included in the collection called “Songs of Love.”

"The Art of Love" and "The Cure for Love" are rather parodic works that give advice to young lovers, set out withwit and satire. This was the reason for sending Ovid into long-term exile. Emperor Octavian August saw in his poems a mockery of his policies, which affected the institution of marriage and the family.

Ovid died away from Rome, having managed to write before his death "Messages from Pontus" and "Sorrowful Elegies".

Philosophy in Ancient Rome

Philosophical systems did not originate in Ancient Rome and in general long before its formation, but nevertheless the Romans were able to give the world many outstanding philosophers, writers and thinkers, one of whom was Lucretius Carus. He was a freethinker, not afraid to rethink existing systems, for which he gained fame.

He was also a poet - he wrote both lyrical sonnets and plays for the theater. As a Roman poet, Lucretius also achieved considerable success. His poem "On the Nature of Things", written in a unique Latin hexameter, is undoubtedly a masterpiece of all ancient Roman literature.

Comedy and tragedy

The comedic and tragic genre in Rome developed under the influence of the images of Ancient Greece. Therefore, since ancient times, comedy and tragedy have not been considered native genres for Roman culture. Originally Roman was a genre called satura. This word means a dish filled with various foods.

Then it began to denote a mixture of poems from different directions, combined in a single image. Size did not matter, so the size of such verses could be either large or small.

One of the poets who worked in a similar style is Ennius. He published his collectionwhich included both semi-entertaining and instructive verses.

Lucilius Gaius made a significant contribution to the development of satura. In his work, this genre left a big mark. In less than 72 years, Lucilius wrote about 30 saturas, in which the vices of humanity and contemporaries are denounced:

• bribery;
• self-interest;
• moral "rot";
• greed.

For his works, Gaius Lucilius found characters from real life. In those days, slavery flourished, the economy flourished, and the successful conduct of the hostilities of the Roman Empire led to an increase in we alth accumulated and concentrated in one hand among a narrow circle of the elite. The aristocrats, in pursuit of gold and money, went through the so-called moral decay.

According to historians, Satura gave birth to such a direction of literature as Roman realism. After the death of the great writer Lucilius, satura was defined as a work of small volume, with accusatory overtones.

Development of Roman literature

The works of Roman poets were very poetic, and their form was poetic. With the advent of more and more new poets, poetic speech in Latin developed. In poems, poets began to express their philosophical thoughts and ideas. With the help of images and literary devices, movements of human feelings were created.

Deepening into the study of the mythology, religion and art of Greece led to the enrichment of Latin poetry. Writers, coming into contact with the rich history of Greek literature,expanded their horizons, creating more and more new and improved works.

At the end of the existence of the Roman Empire, Catullus can be distinguished. He was a master of poetry who created lyrical poems of small volume. In them, the Roman poet described the basic feelings of any person:

• love;
• jealousy;
• joy;
• friendship;
• love of nature;
• love for native places.

But in addition to them, in the work of Catullus, works directed against the reign of Caesar, as well as against his minions, who were unbearably greedy, stand out. The main lever that had a significant impact on the poetry of Catullus was the Alexandrian work of poets. Alexandrian literature is distinguished by references to mythology, personal feelings and experiences of the poet himself. The work of Catullus occupies an important place in world poetry. Even Pushkin himself highly appreciated the poems of the Roman writer.