SATIRE:
(Indian
Classical Literature)
-HORACE
BIOGRAPHY
OF HORACE:
Horace was Roman lyric poet, satirist and critic. He was
born on 8 December, 65 B.C. in Apulia, Italy. His father was Italian freedman
and owned a small farm. He send Horace to the finest school of Rome- “the
Grammaticus Orbilius”. Later he was sent to Athens to study Greek
(literature) and Philosophy in 44 B.C. He became staff officer in Brutus’ army.
He fought in the battle of Philippi in 42 B.C. In that Marc and Antony along
with Octavian( later Augustus ) defeated
the army of Brutus. Horace mentioned that the he fled from the battle field
leaving behind his shield. The defeat at war concluded his military carrier. He
also lost his family property and returned back to Rome. Soon he was appointed
as an official clerk of the treasury and this this allowed him to practice
poetry. In this period of time he became friends with the poet like Virgil and
Varius. Further he became adviser of Augustus. A very renowned poet, Maecenas
who was close friend of Horace gifted him an estate. This estate helped him to
have a modest income.
Probably around 35 B.C.
he published Satire. This book was written in Hexameter. In this Satire he
describes about the poet rejection of public life. In 23 B.C. he published the
first three book of Odes and in 20 B.C. he published the 1st
book of ‘Epistles’. In 19 B.C. Virgil died. Horace became the
most elaborated poet in the city of Rome. It was the time when Augustus offered
him the job of his private secretary. In 17 B.C. Augustus asked Horace to write
to ceremonial poem celebrating his reign. In 14 B.C. he published his second
book of Epistles. A year later he published the forth book of Odes.
In the final year of his life he wrote his critical ‘Ars Poetica’. He
died on 27 November, 8 B.C. at the age of 57.
Horace is well known for his Odes today. Along with Virgil
and Ovid, Horace is considered as one of the leading poet of Augustus age.
During the middle age of renaissance his poetry theme got huge importance. Some
of poet were poet were greatly inspired by him. He influenced poets like
Petrarch, Dante, Robert Frost, Alexander Pope, and many more. Shakespeare also
had a great influence of Horace
poetry.
WORKS
OF HORACE:
1.
Satire 1 (35 BC)
2.
Satire 2 (30 BC)
3.
Epodes (30BC)
4.
Odes 1-3 (23 BC)
5.
Epistles (20 BC)
6.
Carmen Saeculare (17 BC)
7.
Epistles 2 (11 BC)
8.
Odes 4 (11 BC)
9.
Ars Poetica (10-8 BC)
SUMMARY OF HORACE’S
‘ARS POETICA’:
Horace has written a masterpiece in the form of ‘Ars
Poetica’. Horace is the first critic who for the first time formulated certain
rule for directing the poets and describe at the length about the function of
poetry. He evolved his poetic theories which
are expressed in his famous critical work Ars Poetica (Art of Poetry).
Tis main topics discussion are poetic, poetry and drama. Ars Poetica is not mostly
a work of criticism, first of all it is a poem- a poem with the subject of
criticism. Deals with the art of poetry under three heads-
1. Poesis: 1-72 lines, deals with the
qualities that are essential for poetic composition such as verbal uses,
brevity, purple patches, writing within one’s power and order of ideas.
2. Poema: 73-294 lines, discus about the
various genres, decorum, rules and their history. The whole poem itself is
discussed in this section of poema.
3. Poeta: 295-476 lines, it contains
various ideas and pieces of advice for a poet.
HORACE
VIEW ABOUT DRAMA:
Horace was greatly influenced by Aristotle. He was well
versed with the literature of Greece.
Horace was very much familiar with the work of Plato and Aristotle had a great
influence on the roman culture and literature. The literature was reflecting
the true image of the society. Horace pursued the way in literature that was
the most trodden. He had almost the similar view about the drama like other
writer. We can say that he was adding
something to the point of view of Aristotle which was mentioned in Poetics.
He emphasised upon under mentioned three features of drama.
1.
Plot
2.
Characterisation
3.
Language and Style
1.
PLOT:
According to Horace plot should be borrowed from familiar
environment, if the author is familiar with the story, he will be able to
provide original and due treatment to the story. If the author chooses a new
theme, he has to be consistent from the beginning till the end. There must be
coherence among beginning middle and the end of the story. Only the relevant
event of the story should be joined into aim unbreakable union.
The sight and difficulty should be at particular level such
event should be presented in manner which can easily believe by the audience.
For instance, a mother mouldering her child or a human being changing into any
animal should be presented into the play in the fairly-tail. Such imaginative
incidents must not be shown on the stage. It is fact that was is heard is less
shocking or incredible then what is seen. Supernatural activities should not be
introduced to solve a human problem unless there is no other way.
2.
CHARCTERISTAION:
Horace highlighted on the importance of appropriate
characterisation. He believes that characters taken from tradition should
preserve their traditional values. Therefore, the character of Achilles is
impatient and passionate. A dramatist should create a new character if it is
demanded by the situation. Such characters must be able to show the truth of
life. The action presented by the character should synchronize with age and
situation. A dramatist has to pick a character that is very flexible. According
to the situation a dramatist must not offer the role of an old man to a youth
or the role of a man to a child. There must be compatibility between action and
age of the person.
3.
LANGUAGE AND STYLE:
Language and Style of a drama should be very compatible with
the story. According to Horace “iambic meter” should be used for
dialogue writing. Such dialogues are very suitable for tragedy as well as
comedy. In this style every second syllable of this verse is spoken louder then
the first. He felt that iambic meter is more suitable for dialogue delivery. It
is very convenient to connect to the audience. However, the language of tragedy
and that of comedy is different. The language of tragedy must be expressing
grave tone while the language of comedy should possess lighter note. The style
is also responsible for making the dialogue more effective. A dramatist must
keep in mind the appropriateness of the dialogue with the character.
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