Animal similes and creativity in the 'Posthomerica' of Quintus of Smyrna
Abstract
This thesis examines the similes of wild animals in the third century epic poem Posthomerica, of
Quintus
of
Smyrna. The
similes are studied
in
both inter-textual
and textual levels. The former
approach discusses the debt
of
Quintus'
similes to preceding poets in terms of
language and
imagery. Quintus
proves to be
a creative and imaginative poet who
knows
well the tradition he has
inherited. The latter
approach deals with the similes in the Posthomerica only and
reveals how they are thoughtfully inter-related and form
sequences which ensure
the unity and coherence of the poem, and enhance its
overall melancholy tonality.
It is
also shown that by describing individual
cases of
doom, the sequences of
animal-similes mirror the main theme of the poem, the fall
of
Troy. Nevertheless
Quintus does not concentrate exclusively on the individual
victorious
hero but
gives an important
position to the victim, to the mass, as well as to characters who
are distant from the battlefield,
as women are. This
multi-sided presentation of the
human being
who
is directly
or
indirectly involved in the destructive war
brings
Quintus
close to the Hellenistic
attitude of the heroic
as well as to psychological
portraits of women
from that period.
The
similes
in the first
chapter
describe
exclusively male characters and show the heroic
valour
being
undermined.
Women have
an
increasing
presence in the similes of the second chapter;
vulnerable as they are, they add to the melancholy of the Posthomerica. The third
chapter studies the pure wild animal, the beast. The
chapter contains an analysis
of the beast in
epic similes preceding those of
Quintus and shows that the beast-
simile
is
mainly psychological and reflects the incomprehensible power of
Nature.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
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