Title
The Early Christian Response to Platonist Poetics: Boethius, Prudentius, and the Poeta Theologus
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2017
Department
Classical Studies
Language
English
Publication Title
The Poetics of Late Latin Literature
Abstract
The literary tradition associated with Boethius's consolatio philosophiae is well known and crucial to Western literary history. As readers, we envision Boethius sitting in his cell, contemplating the injustice of his suffering and impending death. Philosophia ("Lady Philosophy") comes to him to furnish a therapeutic cure that will change his perspective, bring him peace of mind and strength to face a fate that he does not control. In the consolatio, Boethius revisits the age-old quarrel between philosophy (for Christians, theology) and poetry by drawing upon discrete forms of prose and poetry and by adopting the content of the ancient philosophical and poetic traditions--and even Christian traditions. Poetry, the source of lies, stands side by side with its opposite, philosophy, the way of truth.
Recommended Citation
Mastrangelo, Marc. "The Early Christian Response to Platonist Poetics: Boethius, Prudentius, and the Poeta Theologus." In The Poetics of Late Latin Literature, edited by Jas Elsner and Jesús Hernández Lobato, 391-423. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.
Comments
This published version is made available on Dickinson Scholar with the permission of the publisher. For more information on the published version, visit Oxford University Press's Website.