Irony and Metapoetics in Theocritus' Idyll 18.

Although scholarship has identified multiple ironic elements throughout Theocritus' Idyll 18, his epithalamium for Helen, this paper offers a new perspective on Theocritus' ambiguity, his allusive puns, and his ironic comparisons that masquerade as generic hymeneal topoi. Additionally, the embedded...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Mnemosyne Vol. 74; no. 2; pp. 259 - 274
Autor principal: Walker, Guy
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Brill Academic Publishers 2021
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:Although scholarship has identified multiple ironic elements throughout Theocritus' Idyll 18, his epithalamium for Helen, this paper offers a new perspective on Theocritus' ambiguity, his allusive puns, and his ironic comparisons that masquerade as generic hymeneal topoi. Additionally, the embedded aetiology of Helen's tree-cult has long eluded interpretation. This paper proposes a metapoetic reading for the plane-tree and its arboreal inscription. As a mise en abyme , it forms a metatextual link between the imagined internal reader and the external audience to reflect on the power of the author and the text over the reader.