Dream, Fantasy, and Visual Art in Roman Elegy [Paperback]

The elegists, ancient Romes most introspective poets, filled their works with vivid, first-person accounts of dreams.Dream, Fantasy, and Visual Art in Roman Elegyexamines these varied and visually striking textual dreamscapes, arguing that the poets exploited dynamics of visual representation to allow readers to share in the intensely personal experience of dreaming.
??????????? By treating dreams as a mode for viewing, an analogy suggested by diverse ancient authors, Emma Scioli extracts new information from the poetry of Propertius, Tibullus, and Ovid about the Roman concept of seeing dreams. Through comparison with other visual modes of description, such as ekphrasis and simile, as well as with related types of visual experience, such as fantasy and voyeurism, Scioli demonstrates similarities between artist, dreamer, and poet as creators, identifying the dreamer as a particular type of both viewer and narrator.

The elegists, ancient Romes most introspective poets, filled their works with vivid, first-person accounts of dreams. Emma Scioli examines these varied and visually striking textual dreamscapes, arguing that the poets exploited dynamics of visual representation to share with readers the intensely personal experience of dreaming.

The scope of Sciolis book is impressive, covering a wide range of Roman literature and art.Tim OSullivan, author ofWalking in Roman Culture

Scrupulously researched, elegantly written, and bristling with new insights. There is nothing like this book in previous work on the subject of dreams in Latin poetry. Scioli is fully in command of both the Roman art and Latin literature.John F. Miller, University of Virginia

“The close readings are, on the whole, executed with sophistication and are instructive for considering narrative dynamics.”—Bryn Mawr Classical Review  

List of Illustrations  &#l³w