This study aims to produce a positive assessment of the Franciade, by viewing Ronsard's epic venture in the context of works by Ronsard himself and by poets such as Baïf and Belleau. The com- positions considered extract single episodes from an epic whole, and are united by their structural and rhetorical techniques, forming a group dominated by the Franciade. The first chapter examines the question of genre raised by the fragments, and reviews classical models utilized by the French poets, placing particular emphasis upon the Alexandrians. It re- veals how the sixteenth-century poets long to produce a full-scale epic . Chapter 2 groups the fragments according to theme, highlighting Argonautic poems, notably Ronsard's Hymne de Calais, et de Zetes, Hymne de Pollux et de Castor, and Hylas. Chapter 3 examines the structure of the fragments in terms of contraction and expansion. Some poets circumscribe their material with a prelude and conclusion; others extend its temporal and spatial perspectives, by such means as retrospection, prophecy, and descriptions of ornate objects. The rhetoric of the fragments is seen in Chapter 4 to reflect the expansive urge: simile, circumlocution, and preterition all widen the poetic vistas. Chapter 5 studies Ronsard's approach to the problem of inven- ting an original framework for his epic, how he tries to lend it coherence by structural and rhetorical means. Yet the techniques Ronsard practised in the fragments finally prevail: the Franciade breaks up into a series of vivid miniatures: Ronsard repeatedly returns to material made familiar by classical epics. The conclusion emphasizes that the 'accidental' fragmentation of the Franciade should be viewed alongside the voluntary frag- mentation of the sixteenth-century heroic miniatures. The Franciade should, especially, be considered in conjunction with other Ron- sardian productions, such as the Argonautic hymns. Together with these, it forms an intricate fretwork of epic motifs.

The main part of the thesis is a commentary on Silius Italicus Book 1, concentrating on the poet's attempts to blend history into epic. Close scrutiny of his language reveals his awareness of the problems involved in writing historical epic, as he varies his diction and conventions at different stages of the book. The commentary also examines his manipulation of the historical tradition. Excursus 1, The Structure, examines Silius' solution of the largescale problem of shaping his historical raw material into a poem that conformed to the conventions of proportion and harmony. It is suggested that he did not seek unity through a hero or by thematic means, but by superimposing a coherent pattern on to the events of the war. Excursus 2, The Gods, investigates Silius' decision to retain the traditional epic divine apparatus. It is argued that such a decision is intelligible and not to be summarily dismissed as misguided. Any "failure" of the divine apparatus in Silius is a matter of practice, not of theory.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2008. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 271-285). Also available online in ProQuest, free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of St Andrews, September 2008.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of St Andrews, September 2008.

Habilitationsschrift--Zürich. / Bibliography: p. 203-217.

Habilitationsschrift--Tübingen. / Bibliography: p. [215]-237.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Exeter. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 207-210).

Thesis--Freiburg i. B. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 373-392).

Zugl.: Berlin, Freie Universiẗat, Diss., 2005.