Epic Poetry and Theater in Ancient Rome: A Literary Journey
Epic Poetry in Ancient Rome
The Epic is a literary manifestation that narrates events or heroic acts. Roman writers initially adapted and translated Greek models. Unlike other cultures, Latin epic poetry is the product of the mind of a poet trying to sublimate the cult origins of Rome and some representatives of Roman power. In most cultures, epic poetry began as spoken and sung, a fact that does not occur in the case of Latin epic poetry. It is always written in verse and uses a slow versification. In Greek and Roman literature, poets used the hexameter. It sings the heroic deeds of those most recognized by a community. In Greek epic poetry, the exploits and adventures of Greek and Trojan heroes who fought in the Trojan War were narrated. They embody the social and moral values most appreciated by the culture that created them. As epic poetry was a genre of oral tradition, they used a few memorized formulas that enabled the text. Whole verses or parts of verses are repeated, creating a common metric and scheme that serves as epithets to characterize human or divine figures. Similar comparisons indicate the passage from one episode to another, relaxing the audience’s attention after moments of great tension.
Virgil and the Aeneid
The Aeneid is a poem divided into 12 cantos and almost 10,000 verses. It is based on the destruction of Troy by the Greeks and the subsequent return to Italy of Aeneas and the foundation of a new homeland. Virgil (70 BC near Mantua) studied rhetoric and philosophy in Rome. He met patrons, promoters, and protectors of the arts, and was a great personal friend of Augustus. He lived a simple life while writing the Aeneid and died in 19 BC. Virgil wrote his first work, the Bucolics, when he was 28. This set of pastoral-themed poems intended to reflect the simple life of shepherds in the field. Later, he wrote the poem Georgics, a teaching that revolves around the life of the Italic peasant, describing the farming and agricultural world.
Theater in Ancient Rome (240 BC)
Along with epic poetry, theater is the oldest literary genre of Latin literature. It arose from the adaptation of Greek dramatic schemes after the conquest of Magna Graecia (2nd century BC). The Romans observed the theatrical performances of the colonies in Italy, and attracted by their beauty, they copied the patterns of Greek tragedy and comedy and rigorously maintained them. The genres belonging to the cult drama are tragedy and comedy.
Tragedy
Tragedy represents the greatness of conflictive situations. Characters generally go from a happy situation to a bad destination, guided by fate. We must distinguish two types of tragedy according to their theme:
- Fabula Palliata: Greek theme.
- Fabula Praetexta: Originally Latin but took the structure of Greek tragedy.
Tragedy had little success among the Romans, and the audience was small. The Republic was its time of splendor. The latest examples of the genre are from the days of the Empire, such as those by Seneca, which were not represented but only read to a circle of friends. Seneca is one of the most important authors of this genre.
Comedy
Comedy shows human situations, often taken from daily life, and reflects facts relating to a political and social time that the audience can recognize, with a critical and burlesque purpose. Plautus and Terence are the main representatives.
Plautus
Plautus (254-184 BC) was the author of the best comedies belonging to the genre Fabulae Pallatae, Roman comedies with Greek characters and plot.
Terence
Terence (190-159 BC) was the second major author of comedies in Rome. His style is very different from that of Plautus, but the origins of his arguments were also Greek. Terence wrote comedies of a moralizing nature.