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O'HARA, J. J., Inconsistency in Roman Epic. Cambridge University Press, 2007. 180p. Paperback. Series: Roman Literature and its Contexts. 'O'Hara argues that inconsistencies in Roman epic are often, but not always, thematic devices that demand interpretation. He begins with an expansive survey of the device in 'Greek Versions' (chapter 1) that introduces inconsistency as an established hermeneutic, especially in Hellenistic literature. He proceeds to focus on Roman epic alone in the following five chapters, which are on Catullus 64 (chapter 2), Lucretius' 'De Rerum Natura' (chapter 3), Vergil's 'Aeneid' (chapter 4), Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' (chapter 5), and Lucan's 'De Bello Civili' (chapter 6). In a compelling study, O'Hara argues that many thematic inconsistencies are related to the experience of reading these texts. O'Hara supports his argument by focusing specifically on the proems of the epics he covers. One of the greatest strengths of his argument is to link thematic inconsistencies with the formal construction of epic. His command of the secondary literature is formidable, as the sixteen pages of bibliography and over 300 footnotes attest. O'Hara attends constantly to the place of his argument in the history of scholarship and guides the reader through a variety of interpretive approaches to the inconsistencies that he analyzes without claiming to offer a 'key' to them all.' (JOSIAH EDWARDS DAVIS in Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2007.10.22). € 26.50 (New) ISBN: 9780521646420