Horatian Imitation in Jan Kochanowski’s Latin Poetry

The aim of this study is to show how Kochanowski imitated Horace in various ways and at different levels of his poetry. As to this moment, the matter has been discussed, mainly in regard to the Lyricorum libellus, by Zofia Głombiowska and Józef Budzyński. In this paper, the author briefly summarises their statements and comments upon them expressing her own view. She also mentions some other publications dealing with the Horatianism of the Polish poet to a lesser degree.
The text is divided into four sections. In the first one, the author makes a brief comparison between Kochanowski and Petrarca in the context of their mental kinship with Horace that resulted in poetry which is “Horatian” not only in terms of the verba but also some ideas.
The second section is devoted to the Horatianism of Kochanowski’s collection of odes (Lyricorum libellus). The author begins with a brief summary of the previously mentioned scholars’ views. She also demonstrates that some of these views may oversimplify the question of Horatian imitation in case of at least several of Kochanowski’s poems. To illustrate this, she presents an analysis of ode XI (In equum) in the context of its Horatian models; the conclusion is that in this poem, as well as in the entire collection, Kochanowski imitates Horace in a sophisticated and polyphonic way.
The third part of the text, after a brief mention of the “loci Horatiani” in Kochanowski’s elegies, shows the interplay of ideas between Horatian poetry and Kochanowski’s Elegy III 1. The author puts emphasis on the fact that Kochanowski adapted some of the elegiac themes to the Horatian rhetoric.
Concluding her disquisition, the author argues that Kochanowski’s Horatian imitation is neither superficial nor confined to the imitation verborum, but reaches deep in the structures of Horace’s poetry.

 

The aim of this study is to show how Kochanowski imitated Horace in various ways and at different levels of his poetry. As to this moment, the matter has been discussed, mainly in regard to the Lyricorum libellus, by Zofia Głombiowska and Józef Budzyński. In this paper, the author briefly summarises their statements and comments upon them expressing her own view. She also mentions some other publications dealing with the Horatianism of the Polish poet to a lesser degree.

The text is divided into four sections. In the first one, the author makes a brief comparison between Kochanowski and Petrarca in the context of their mental kinship with Horace that resulted in poetry which is “Horatian” not only in terms of the verba but also some ideas.
The second section is devoted to the Horatianism of Kochanowski’s collection of odes (Lyricorum libellus). The author begins with a brief summary of the previously mentioned scholars’ views. She also demonstrates that some of these views may oversimplify the question of Horatian imitation in case of at least several of Kochanowski’s poems. To illustrate this, she presents an analysis of ode XI (In equum) in the context of its Horatian models; the conclusion is that in this poem, as well as in the entire collection, Kochanowski imitates Horace in a sophisticated and polyphonic way.
The third part of the text, after a brief mention of the “loci Horatiani” in Kochanowski’s elegies, shows the interplay of ideas between Horatian poetry and Kochanowski’s Elegy III 1. The author puts emphasis on the fact that Kochanowski adapted some of the elegiac themes to the Horatian rhetoric.
Concluding her disquisition, the author argues that Kochanowski’s Horatian imitation is neither superficial nor confined to the imitation verborum, but reaches deep in the structures of Horace’s poetry.