Chapter 4

LUCAN

Life, p. 97. Minor works, p. 99. His choice of a subject, p. 101, Choice of epic methods, p. 102. Petronius' criticism of historical epic, p. 103. Difficulties of the subject, p. 104. Design of the poem, p. 106. Characters: Pompey, p. 106. Caesar, p. 108. Cato, p. 109. Descriptive passages, p. 112. Hyperbole, p. 115. Irrelevance, p. 116. Lack of poetic vocabulary, p. 116. Tendency to political satire, p. 117. Speeches, p. 120. _Sententiae,_ p. 122. Metre, p. 123. Summary, p. 123.