Humor in the historical works of Tacitus / Emma Warhover.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Warhover, Emma.

Language:

English

Latin

Subjects (All):

Tacitus, Cornelius--Criticism and interpretation.

Tacitus, Cornelius.

Wit and humor, Ancient--Authorship.

Wit and humor, Ancient.

Historiography--Rome.

Historiography.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (250 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, 2026.

Language Note:

English and Latin.

Summary:

Emma Warhover's Humor in the Historical Works of Tacitus explores how the ancient Roman historian Tacitus incorporated humor into his historical works and unveil the significance of these humorous motifs. Since the historian was one of the most important ancient sources on Rome's emperors Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero, readers of Tacitus have long been challenged by his purposely opaque style, full of unbalanced grammatical constructions and end-of-the-sentence surprises. Tacitus' strange prose style reflects the remarkable times about which he writes, when emperors made bizarre and contradictory demands on their subjects and told obvious lies to cover up the cruelty of their regimes. In serious texts like Tacitus' historical works, humor can expose hypocrisy in the powerful, demonstrate the absurdity of imperial pronouncements, and simultaneously communicate why such offenses were allowed to stand.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

One. Flattery Will Get You Everywhere: Otho and Humor in Histories 1

Two. Humor as Precedent: The Trial of Libo Drusus

Three. The Wedding of Messalina and Silius

Four. Humor in Nero's Consolidation of Power

Five. Humor as a Tool of Nero's Power

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index Locorum

General Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 175-184) and index.

Description based on information from the publisher.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

0-472-22250-3

9780472222506

OCLC:

1528472914