Outline of the History of Ancient Roman Literary Criticism

Author: Wang Huansheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-01-01
Features: Ancient Greek literary theory, due to its unique primordial nature and rich intellectual content, has long been valued and systematically studied by scholars abroad for many centuries. There has been a considerable amount of introduction to ancient Greek literary theory in China as well. The literary thought of Plato and his theory of Forms (also translated as Ideas), as well as Aristotle's Poetics and his theory of catharsis, are widely known in academia and frequently cited in scholarly works. In contrast, the attention paid to ancient Roman literary theory is relatively less, and understanding of it is weaker. What people are more familiar with is Horace and his Ars Poetica. There are reasons for this within ancient Roman literary theory itself, such as its dependence on ancient Greek literary theory in many aspects and its preference for concrete practice. Therefore, when people seek to trace the origins of a literary theory or cite authoritative references for a literary theory viewpoint, they naturally think of ancient Greek literary theory first or more often. This situation affects the understanding and introduction of ancient Roman literary theory. However, ancient Roman literary theory also has its own inherent value. Its historical significance is not just that it existed. It has endured the test of time and remained influential until today, not as a historical misunderstanding or a mere coincidence, but due to its own practical value, which warrants our serious reflection and comprehension. For this reason, the author has recently taken ancient Roman literary theory as the subject of his research, dedicating considerable time and effort to exploring it. Ancient Roman literary theory encompasses general literary theory and theories of various literary genres. It is worth noting that Rome's unique political system fostered the prosperity of rhetoric, making speeches an important component of Roman prose. Similarly, although rhetoric (eloquentia, generally referred to as rhetorica in Greek) has its own distinct characteristics, especially many rhetorical techniques that are closely related to the concrete expression of speech, within the scope of literary theory, it has also become an important part of ancient Roman literary theory and often directly influences the entire literary theory and literary creation. This book introduces ancient Roman literary theory chronologically, dividing it into stages and focusing on the important literary thoughts and representative figures of each era. When introducing the literary thought of each stage, the book also provides a summary of the corresponding historical background and literary developments. This approach serves to facilitate the introduction of literary theory while also enabling readers to gain a systematic understanding of the relationship between literary theory and literary development in each stage. Literary theory and literary criticism are two distinct concepts, yet they are often used interchangeably in practice. Theory is naturally dominated by rational thinking, but it must also include criticism or commentary; criticism is naturally dominated by commentary, but it cannot exist without theory and also encompasses the exploration, induction, and summarization of theory. The ancient Romans were a pragmatic people, and their contributions to literary theory seem closer to the latter. Additionally, this book only provides a brief introduction and commentary on the history of ancient Roman literary criticism, which is why it is titled "Outline of History."