Neoteric

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Contents 1 Greek Neoterics 2 Latin Neoterics

The Neoteroi (νεοτεροι, Greek for "new poets"), Neoterics or the Neoteric period refers to avant-garde poets and their poetry, specifically those Greek and Latin poets in the Hellenistic Period (323 BC onwards) who propagated a new style of Greek poetry, deliberately turning away from the classical Homeric epic poetry.

Their poems featured small-scale personal themes, instead of the feats of ancient heroes and gods. Although these poems might seem to address superficial subjects, they are subtle and accomplished works of art.

[edit] Greek Neoterics

The most famous of these were the Alexandrian Greeks Callimachus, the author of many epigrams, and Theocritus, a bucolic poet from Sicily.

[edit] Latin Neoterics

Influenced by the Greek Neoterics, the Latin Neoterics (writing in the 1st century BC) rejected traditional social and literary norms. Their poetry is characterized by tight construction, a playful use of genre, punning, and complex allusions. The most significant surviving Latin Neoteric is Catullus. The modern edition of his works derives from a 14th Century codex, which appeared in his hometown of Verona, but now is lost. His poetry exemplifies the elegant vocabulary, meter, and sound, which the Neoterics sought, while balancing it with the equally important allusive element of their style.

Other Latin poets normally classified as neoterics are:

• Catullus
• Ovid
• Propertius
• Tibullus and Gallus - although so little of their work remains it is difficult to tell
• Virgil in some of his writing, such as the Eclogues