Hellenistic Poetry

These seminars provide an introduction to Greek poetry produced between the death of Alexander and the death of Cleopatra and a close reading of selected passages from the major poets of the period (Callimachus, Theocritus, Apollonius).

The course focuses on the ways in which this poetry differs from what went before as well as on elements of continuity, and also looks ahead to the reception of Greek poetry in Rome. Above all, it is concerned with how this period shaped modern ideas of the nature of poetry by a powerful combination of creative poetry and poetic criticism.