Horace critical essays

In this way, Horace criticizes the behavior of the bore and of others like him rather than attacking the person by name. During their (rather one-sided) conversation, the bore reveals that he is a poet and is hoping that Horace will introduce him to Gaius Maecenas (Horace’s wealthy patron).

The body of work published by Horace is rather small, reflecting the author’s belief that a poem that is tightly crafted and highly polished is superior to a work that is longer and less refined. For this reason, Horace’s models were not the ponderous Saturnian lines of Andronicus or the lengthy satires of Lucilius.

His poetry is important because it provides a glimpse of peacetime in the Roman empire after years of civil war. Horace's poetry is known for its wit, and his Ars Poetica became a style manual for poets of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and was required reading in British schools.

Critical study of Horace has included Horace's use of Greek meter, Horace as a man, comparisons of his work with other poets, studies of his influence on other poets and the poets who influenced his work, his ability to interpret the events of his times, and specific, detailed analysis of his style and technique.