The role of figurative language in ancient Greek literary criticism

• Applicant: Dr. Giulia Dovico
• Subject Area: Greek and Latin Philology
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 545385394

Figurative language undoubtedly contributes to the dense linguistic texture of poetry. Interestingly, poets frequently use such language to reflect upon the creative process of writing poetry. However, metapoetic figurative language is not merely confined to poetry: it also surfaces in those writings which aim to explain, analyse, and appraise literature. In such contexts it is deployed in order to describe and evaluate phenomena, authors, and styles. Traditionally, figurative language has been investigated into from a (i) linguistic and (ii) literary perspective. But it works also at a (iii) cognitive level by linking together not only two terms but also two cognitive domains. Given the peculiar nature of figurative language itself, this project will inquire into the role of figurative language in the (1) expression and (2) conceptualisation of metapoetic content, with the goal of better appreciating the literary and technical qualities of ancient literary-critical texts. More specifically, I want to (1) assess the contribution that figurative language makes to the development of a technical terminology in the field under discussion and to (2) understand how figurative language is employed as a rhetorical and literary device; (3) given the cognitive component of figurative language, I want to investigate how poetics is conceptualized and how figurative language reflects this conceptualization, working within the framework of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory. With this research, I aim to show how both the literary and cognitive functions of figurative language coexist in ancient literary-critical and rhetorical texts, contributing to the degree of literariness and/or technicality of such texts in different ways. I will investigate primarily works by Dionysius of Halicarnassus (the works dedicated to poetics), Demetrius, Hermogenes, and Ps.-Longinus, including occasional incursions into (literary) authors who deal with literary-critical issues in their writings. Minor and later rhetoricians as well as scholiastic corpora will also come under consideration when they prove relevant for understanding the reception of terms of metaphorical origin. The consideration of Latin authors will contribute to better examine the results in a broader cultural context. By fruitfully applying more traditional approaches and modern approaches to ancient 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.

• DFG Programme: WBP Fellowship
• International Connection: Netherlands
• Hosts: Professor Felix Budelmann; Professor Casper De Jonge