The Oxford Anthology of Roman Literature

by Peter E. Knox (Editor), J.C. McKeown (Editor)

Though the wonders of ancient Roman culture continue to attract interest across the disciplines, it is difficult to find a lively, accessible collection of the full range of the era's literature in English. The Oxford Anthology of Roman Literature provides a general introduction to the literature of the Roman empire at its zenith, between the second century BC and the second century AD. Two features of this extraordinarily fertile period in literary achievement as evidenced by this anthology are immediately and repeatedly how similar the Romans' view of the world was to our own and, perhaps even more obviously, how different it was. Most of the authors included in the anthology wrote in Latin, but as the anthology moves forward in time, relevant Greek texts that reflect the cultural diversity of Roman literary life are also included, something no other such anthology has done in the past.

Roman literature was wonderfully creative and diverse, and the texts in this volume were chosen from a broad range of drama, epic, philosophy, satire, lyric poetry, love poetry. By its very nature an anthology can abbreviate and thus obscure the most attractive features of even a masterpiece, so the two editors have not only selected texts that capture the essence of the respective authors, but also have included accompanying introductions and afterwords that will guide the reader in pursuing further reading. The presentations of the selections are enlivened with illustrations that locate the works within the contexts of the world in which they were written and enjoyed. The student and general reader will come away from this learned yet entertaining anthology with a fuller appreciation of the place occupied by literature in the Roman world.

Genres: Classics, Mythology

633 pages, Paperback

First published October 2, 2013

Reviews

[Jarda Kubalik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything important is in there. Lots of work behind it.

[Faelan Corvellus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed it, even if it was for school. It has nice introductions to the texts that provide useful contexts, and a nice selection.

[Honest Mabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

See more of my reviews at Slave To Books

As an English literature major (I'll be continuing on to get my MFA in creative writing…and from there I hope to continue to get my MA in Viking and Medieval History. So yeah, I'm totally a geek about this stuff! ) I am obsessed with older pieces of work. I've been on a kick reading Norse sagas (I've been reading Grettir's saga recently) and will move on to other epic tales and sagas. That being said, when I had the chance to review this galley I hopped on it. I received a sample of the book as it is basically a tome. I know that when it does come out I will definitely be getting my hands on the paperback. This is a type of book that I prefer to have in my hand. I do a lot of research papers and love to be able to reference them. Granted, I do love the search aspect of the Kindle. But, there is something about having a book this size to flip through.
The introduction and background information was definitely informative. I literally read the galley in about two hours. I devoured it. I loved the pieces that they picked out. I understand this isn't a book that everyone is going to rush out the doors to buy. This is something written by two professors who definitely know their work. However, if you're like me and you absolutely love reading literature from years long passed then you should definitely get your hands on this book.

I highly recommend any history majors, English majors, literature majors, and so forth to read this book. It definitely has everything you need and more. It is an anthology similar to Norton or Longman. I own, gosh, dozens of Oxford University Press books. I have NEVER been disappointed by them. They are equally informative with their background information and they absolutely fascinating. I honestly can say I wish I had the entire book to read. It would take me a little while -- I know. But, I am a huge fan of books like this. So, I'm not going to lie, this is on my Amazon wish list.

Rating: A+

[GONZA · Rating 2 out of 5]

Netgalley didn't send me the entire book bt just the preface with a long part of "The maenechmi" by Plauto.

Netgalley non mi ha mandato l'intero libro, ma soltanto la prefazione con un lungo estratto dai "Maenecmi" di Plauto

THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS FOR THE PREVIEW!