Ars Poetica (Horace)

Background

The poem was written in hexameter verse as an Epistle (or Letter) to Lucius Calpurnius Piso (the Roman senator and consul) and his two sons, and is sometimes referred to as the Epistula Ad Pisones, or "Epistle to the Pisos". The first mention of its name as the "Ars Poetica" was c. 95 by the classical literary critic Quintilian in his Institutio Oratoria," and since then it has been known by that name.

"Written...in a loose conversational frame, the Ars poetica consists of 476 lines containing nearly 30 maxims for...poets." However, unlike philosopher Aristotle's formal treatise the Poetics, the Ars Poetica is not a systematic handbook of literary theory; nor, in spite of the respect accorded to it in later centuries, was it ever meant to be. It is a lively, entertaining verse-epistle, written by a well-read man for his friends, who shared his love of poetry and whose company we are invited to join.

Horace approaches poetry from a practical standpoint—as a craft, or ars—rather than the theoretical approach of his predecessors, Aristotle and the philosopher Plato. He also holds the poet in high regard, as opposed, for instance, to Plato, who distrusts mimesis and who has philosopher Socrates say in Book 10 of the Republic that he would banish poets from the ideal state.

Summary

The following is a brief outline of the main subjects of the work:

(For a more detailed summary of Horace's Ars Poetica, see the article on Horace's Epistles - Epistle II.3).

Literary phrases

"Many of...[the] apt phrases [of the Ars Poetica]...have passed into common literary parlance." Four quotations in particular are associated with the work:

"in medias res (l. 148)," or "into the middle of things." This describes a narrative technique of starting the story from its middle point. According to Horace, this entices the audience into the plot by making everyone curious about the characters' previous paths and their future destinies. The technique appeared frequently in ancient epics, and remains popular in modern narratives.

"ab ovo (l. 147)," or "from the beginning." As Homer did not initiate his epics about the Trojan War from the conception (thus, the egg - "ovo" in Latin) of Helen, poets and other story tellers should do something likewise: in other words, starting a story from its commencement will bore and fatigue audiences that may not be interested in a plot that is tediously inclusive.

"quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus (l. 359)" or "sometimes even good Homer nods off." Today this expression is used to indicate that 1. even the most skilled poet can make continuity errors and 2. long works, usually epics (such as the Iliad or the Odyssey), may have their faults without that detracting significantly from their general quality. In context, however, Horace even censures Homer for such lapses. It reads "et idem | indignor quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus;" (I even castigate the good Homer for the same [fault of technical errors] whenever he nods off).

"ut pictura poesis (l. 361)," or "as is painting so is poetry," by which Horace meant that poetry, in its widest sense meaning "imaginative texts," merits the same careful interpretation that was in his day reserved for painting.

(The latter two phrases occur one after the other near the end of the poem).

The work is also known for its discussion of the principle of decorum (the use of appropriate vocabulary and diction in each style of writing) (l.81-106), and for Horace's criticisms of purple prose (purpureus pannus, l.15-16), a term coined by him to mean the use of flowery language.

In line 191, Horace warns against deus ex machina, the practice of resolving a convoluted plot by having an Olympian god appear and set things right. Horace writes "Nec deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus": "That a god not intervene, unless a knot show up that be worthy of such an untangler".

Perhaps it can even be said that the quotability of Horace's Ars Poetica is what has given it a distinguished place in literary criticism: The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism says:

The Ars Poetica was first translated into English in 1566 by Thomas Drant, and in 1640 by Ben Jonson.