Roman Republic Lit&Art

In dating the Roman Republic from 509-133 BC, we miss some of the best known Roman writers and orators such as Cicero, Virgil and Ovid. However, other artists during the Roman Republic were responsible for a significant contribution to literature, including Ennius (239-169 BC), Livius Andronicus (284-204 BC), Plautus (254?-184 BC) and Terence (185?-159 BC) (Hornblower and Spawforth 258, 706, 538; Livius 1). In addition to many works of literature, the Roman Republic also produced various works of art, including architecture and sculpture. This analysis will review the Roman Empire’s contribution to literature and the arts during the Republic.

The conquest of Greece was responsible for introducing Romans to many works of art, from literature and poetry to architecture and sculpture. With the expulsion of the last of the Etruscan kings in approximately 510 BC, Rome became a Republic (Art 1). The origins of art during the Roman Republic can be traced to a series of wars in which Rome not only expanded its territorial boundaries but also its artistic sensibilities. In the form of war spoils, Romans were exposed to the literature and poetry, histories, architecture, sculpture, music and painting of the Greeks “Mummius…was the first to enhance the esteem which is publicly accorded to foreign paintings at Rome” (Art 1). This influence was profound, promoting Roman society to develop its own works of art. Initially

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(The Earliest 1). History and entertainment were combined in the works of Livius Andronicus and Naevius, a trend that would continue in Roman literature and poetry. Further, the Saturnian metre of these works was a distinctly Roman innovation in poetry, a qualitative form of meter based on the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables. Nonetheless, after the time of Ennius, the use of Saturnian metre would decline in favor of the dactylic hexameter and the elegiac couplet. First adapted by Quintus Ennius and perfected by Virgil, dactylic hexameter means six measures or feet: The first four feet may be either dactyls or spondees. The fifth foot is almost invariably a dactyl. The sixth foot may be either a spondee or a trochee. (Scansion 2) The elegiac couplet would become a favorite of Roman writers, typically consisting of a hexameter line followed by a pentameter line. The pattern of the elegiac couplet is as follows: --/--/-| |-uu/-uu/x -uu/-uu/-| |-uu/-uu/x (Scansion 3) When it comes to drama, Plautus and Terence are considered the two greatest comic playwrights during the Roman Republic. Plautus was the son of a peasant family who gained his theatrical experience working as a stagehand for a traveling t
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Approximate Word count = 1473
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)