Gilbert Highet Livres

Gilbert Highet, Anthon Professor of Latin at Columbia University, was one of the twentieth century's most erudite and distinguished classicists. This book contains virtually all Professor Highet's unpublished classical lectures, which have been arranged in three groups - Greek Literature, Latin Literature, and the Classical Tradition. One finds in these lectures a celebration of classical literature, conveyed through a humane form of scholarship, with emphasis on those aspects of great writing that make the classical authors worth reading - all of which earned for Gilbert Highet an enduring place in the history of his profession.

Gilbert Highet was a legendary teacher at Columbia University, admired for his scholarship and his charisma as a lecturer. Poets in a Landscape is his delightful exploration of both Latin literature and the Italian landscape. As Highet writes in his introduction, "I have endeavored to recall some of the greatest Roman poets by describing the places were they lived, recreating their characters and evoking the essence of their work." The poets are Catullus, Virgil, Horace, Propertius, Tibullus, Ovid, and Juvenal. Highet sketches the stories of the poets' lives and fills in the historical background, while offering crisp modern translations of their finest work and memorably vivid descriptions of the natural world. The result is an entirely sui generis amalgam of travel writing, biography, criticism, and pure poetry-altogether an unexcelled introduction to the world of the classics

Exploring the evolution of literary satire, this study examines its three main forms: monologue, parody, and narrative. Covering a vast timeline from ancient Greece to modern America, it highlights key figures such as Aristophanes and Ionesco, and traces satire's origins, purposes, and techniques. The book also delves into its revival during the Renaissance and its continued relevance today, offering insights into the power and variation of satirical literature across cultures and eras.

The Aeneid features characters defined primarily by their emotionally charged speeches rather than physical descriptions or actions. These poignant utterances evoke the intensity of Greek tragedy, offering deep insights into the motivations and feelings of men, women, gods, and goddesses, making the dialogue a central element of the narrative.