Narratives in Silius Italicus’ Punica

Download or read book Narratives in Silius Italicus’ Punica written by Pieter Van Den Broek and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2023-11-13 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study investigates the role of embedded narratives in Silius Italicus’ Punica, an epic from the late first century AD on the Second Punic War (218–202 BC). At first sight, these narratives seem to be loosely ‘embedded’ in the epic, having their own plot and being situated in a different time or place than the main narrative. A closer look reveals, however, that they foreshadow or recall elements that are found elsewhere in the epic. In this way, they serve as ‘mirrors’ of the main narrative. The larger part of this book consists of four detailed case studies.