G. Dovico

The role(s) of figurative language in ancient Greek literary criticism

Since its beginning, literature has been commented on, explained, and critically examined, at first within literary texts themselves and then in texts specifically devoted to this kind of scrutiny. Such literary-critical texts speak about literature but are not literary texts in the strict sense; yet they do feature literary qualities. Figurative language is one of the most relevant of these qualities, not only because of its frequency but also because it resurfaces in commenting upon and appraising literary texts and in illustrating literary theories. A literary device that also conveys a more technical and subject-specific content, figurative language  is of crucial importance for analysing the intersection between the literary and the technical dimensions of literary-critical writings.

Traditionally, figurative language has been investigated into from a linguistic and a literary perspective. But it works also at a  cognitive level by linking together not only two terms but also two cognitive domains. Given the peculiar nature of figurative language itself, this project sets out to comprehensively inquire into how figurative language in ancient literary criticism serves to express and conceptualise literary theory and how it relates to the literary and technical aspects of those texts. This research will shed new light on ancient literary criticism under several aspects, thus significantly contributing to a more well-rounded appreciation of the toolbox of ancient critics. By deepening our knowledge concerning the conception and expression of poetics, it will highlight a topic with fundamental relevance to the literary, cultural, and intellectual history of Antiquity.