Text, Image, and Music : Performative Aspects of Optatian´s Visual Poetry

Investor logo
Authors

OKÁČOVÁ Marie

Year of publication 2023
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Hermes. Zeitschrift für Klassische Philologie
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Arts

Citation
Web https://biblioscout.net/journal/hermes
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.25162/Hermes-2023-0036
Keywords Optatian; visual poetry; performance; performativity; spectacularity; multi-mediality
Description The paper enquires about the performative qualities of Optatian’s visual poems and contextualizes these experimental texts within the trends of late-antique aesthetics. Adopting a performative approach, the author sheds new light on the metatexts embedded in the majority of Optatian’s carmina as well as the meta-discursive significance of several individual pieces of his collection (Carm. 3 and 25, in particular). The performative features traceable in the corpus include: a) notions of multi-mediality and spectacularity together with the physical materiality and dynamics of language, all constantly advertised by the poet; b) the envisaged active role of readers as co-performers of these intricate texts; and c) the inherent performative power of particular intextual images.
Related projects:

You are running an old browser version. We recommend updating your browser to its latest version.