Rumour and renown : representations of Fama in western literature / Philip Hardie.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hardie, Philip R.

Contributor:

Hazel M. Hussong Fund.

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Library (University of Pennsylvania)

Series:

Cambridge classical studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fame in literature.

Rumor in literature.

Physical Description:

xii, 693 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Summary:

"The Latin word fama means 'rumour', 'report', 'tradition', as well as modern English 'fame' or 'renown'. This magisterial and groundbreaking study in the literary and cultural history of rumour and renown, by one of the most influential living critics of Latin poetry, examines the intricate dynamics of their representations from Homer to Alexander Pope, with a focus on the power struggles played out within attempts to control the word, both spoken and written. Central are the personifications of Fama in Virgil and Ovid and the rich progeny spawned by them, but the book focuses on a wide range of genres other than epic, and on a variety of modes of narrating, dramatising, critiquing, and illustrating fama. Authors given detailed readings include Livy, Tacitus, Petrarch, Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Ben Jonson and Milton"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction; 2. Hesiod and Homer: Virgilian beginnings; 3. Virgil's Fama; 4. Fame and defamation in the Aeneid; 5. Ovid: Metamorphoses; 6. Later epic: Lucan, Statius, Valerius Flaccus, Nonnus; 7. Roman historiography I: Livy; 8. Roman historiography II: Tacitus; 9. Fama and Amor; 10. Fame and blame: Spenser; 11. Christian conversions of Fama; 12. Petrarch: Trionfi, Africa; 13. Fama and power in early modern England: Shakespeare, Ben Jonson; 14. Milton: Samson Agonistes; 15. Plots of fame: Chaucer, Alexander Pope; 16. Visual representations of Fama.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 640-676) and indexes.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Hazel M. Hussong Fund.

ISBN:

9780521620888

0521620880

OCLC:

711048025

Online:

Contributor biographical information

Publisher description