Roman poetry
In the III century BC. e. under Greek influence, Roman literature arose. Venerable historians were Roman annals (annals) in Greek. In the I century BC. he lived a famous Roman literature Cicero (106-43 BC) – the greatest orator, writer, connoisseur of Greek philosophy. His publicistic works are attributed to the best examples of Roman prose. More than 50 Cicero’s speeches and works on the theory of rhetoric have survived. Cicero was not only a remarkable writer and an outstanding speaker, but also a prominent statesman, lawyer, expert in philosophy. His work opened in Roman literature the era of “golden Latin”, considered a model of prose.
Great progress was made in Roman poetry in the first century BC. e. Contemporaries of Cicero were the great Roman poets Lucretius (about 96-55 BC) and Catullus (87/84 – about 54 BC). Lucretzkyu has a remarkable philosophical poem “On the Nature of Things”, representing the world by a combination of atoms
The reign of Emperor Augustus (63 BC – 14 AD) is called the “golden age” of Roman poetry. He went down in history as a ruler, at the time of which great poets and writers lived. Around his friend – the rich and patron of art of Guy Maecenas (? -8 BC), whose name became a household name – a circle of writers, who exalted the Roman past, was formed. The most famous of them is Virgil. “Aeneid” was written but commissioned by Augustus and sang the story of the Roman people and grandparents of the genus Augustus.
The poet Virgil (70-19 BC) became famous as the author of “Aeneid” in 12 books, which became a Roman national epic.
Roman literature is represented by a constellation of outstanding names: the writers of Apulia (II century), the author of the adventurous allegorical novel Metamorphoses, or the Golden Ass, Plutarch (about 46 – about 119), the satirical Juvenal (about 60 – about 127 ), Petronius (? -66), Lucion (about 120 – about 190). The outstanding writer was Varro (116-27 BC). The main work of Varro “Antiquities of Divine and Human Affairs” is a kind of historical, geographical and religious encyclopedia. His pen belongs to 500 grammatical, historical and literary works, biographies of outstanding citizens, philosophical works. Already during his lifetime, his authority was considered undeniable.
The largest Roman comediographs were Plautus (250-184 BC), Terence (190-159 BC). In borrowed from the Greeks stories and situations, they brought a flavor of Roman life. They created a comedy of morals, which reflects the daily life and the main types of Roman society. Plautus was credited with the creation of 130 comedies, of which we reached 20. Representing in the comedies of mean fathers, mercenary soldiers, bohemian youths, cunning, resourceful slaves, the author gradually countered the depravity of the Greeks of the integrity of the Romans. The comedies of Plautus were the first plays with bright Roman humor and juicy Latin. The comedies of Terence are characterized by an accurate characterization of characters, careful motivation of actions and skillful drama. Disclosing the main themes of comedies (problems of family, love and humanity), he avoided the vulgarity and rough humor of Plautus.
Roman theatrical art mainly followed the path of imitation of Greek everyday comedies, but was built on the material from the life of Roman society. The genre of the high tragedy, originating from the ancient classics with its ideas of tragic guilt and the inevitable fate, the Romans did not develop. He did not and could not find an emotional response from people who lived with clear rules of law and rational principles.
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