Ancient biographies of poets are usually thought to take much of their information from the subjects' poems. The relationship between poetry and biography is in fact more complex, and I take as a case study the information about Solon in Ath. Pol. 5–12. Aristotle does use Solon's poetry as a means of establishing the past, but it is more often the case that he reads other traditions into the poetry than that he extrapolates new traditions from the poetry alone. Aristotle also uses his historical knowledge to interpret and comment on the poems in a kind of exegesis.
© 2001-2024 Fundación Dialnet · Todos los derechos reservados