Horace

Ars Poetica is a poem written as an epistle to Lucius Calpurnius Piso and his two sons, both of whom desired to become poets. It's considered a classic text on poetic form and theory. The poem is divided into 14 parts, each of which gives advice and provides illustrative examples from the classical tradition of ancient literature. Poetic themes explained in these sections include unity and harmony, authorial purpose, adherence to tradition, consistency, characterization, style and meter, dramatic theory, and poetic genius. Horace develops a theory of poetry from the perspective of a successful professional poet. Unlike some of his predecessors, like Plato and Aristotle, who produced literary theory from a philosophical perspective, Horace writes as a practicing poet.

Beginning with the principle that poetry requires unity and harmony. Horace compares the disproportionate painting of a woman’s head on a fish’s body, saying no one could believe such an image nor could they “refrain from laughter” So, too, must the writer compose poetry with attention to the unity of form and content. Loftier subject matter requires a higher level of diction, whereas baser topics require a more common and rougher language. Regardless of the subject matter, the form should always adhere to a “simple and uniform” expression. So, the poet must know their subject matter well, otherwise the product will be incompetent. Likewise, the poet’s choice of words must be precise and conform to the content. Horace also allows for the creation of new words, albeit with an awareness of tradition and propriety.

Horace then catalogs the genres of poetry according to the subject. For example, Homer wrote epics about wars and kings. Iambic verse is best for these subjects, which require powerful emotions, actions, and dialogue. Lyrics are best for celebrations of the gods. Mournful feelings work well in elegies. He writes, “A comic subject will not be handled in tragic verse,” to emphasize the need to align content and form. Formal beauty is not enough. Poets must write verse that affects the audience emotionally and morally. In this sense, Horace insists that the finest poetry moves readers to passionate feeling and virtuous action.

Horace contemplates whether talent or effort makes the greatest poets. The best poets must have the requisite natural genius but also the discipline to refine their skills. A critical ability to judge and revise one’s work must be developed through study and training. Poets should trust reputable critics they deem worthy of sound judgment. Acceptance of flattery will only harm the poet.

Finally, Horace admits that most esteemed poets act with a strain of “madness” in their lives. This characteristic is a consequence of attaining technical perfection of craft and possessing poetic genius. Other poets and citizens in general should treat the “mad” poet with kindness and leave them alone so that they can produce great works of art.… (more)

This particular edition offers translations from select odes etc. from Horace fans through the ages. At the back there's a glossary of the English as well as explanations of the references. In some cases more than one translation of a particular ode (notably Odes book ii 13). The translators give their own titles to the works and I hardly pay attention to the numbers, but I was reading one and thought,
"This sounds oddly familiar." Then I flipped back a page and realized they were the same poem. The differences were so far off from each other that I was forced to find the Latin online to compare. Latin is so tidy compared to messy, if colorful, analytic English and the second translation seemed much more in that line in its relative simplicity. The most annoying thing about all the translations was the rhyming. Arrrrgh! They were really stretching to make poetry that didn't rhyme into some that did.… (more)