Quotations in Roman Prose as Intermedial Phenomena

Abstract

Abstract This article takes as its starting point the observation that quotations in Latin prose are largely characterised by features of oral communication. It analyses four passages from Cicero, Suetonius, Gellius, and Servius so as to outline how these quotations bridge the verbal and the written, and can therefore be classified as covert intermedial representations. Specific formulae which shape text passages as quotations include both explicit markers such as ferunt (‘they say’) and dixit (‘he said’), as well as implicit hints ranging from demonstrative pronouns (illud, haec) to conjunctions (ut, sicut). These linguistic tags are read within the frameworks of ‘intermedial reference’ and ‘remediation’, thereby yielding insights on how oral and written features meld into the literary quotations of Roman prose. What is more, this chapter demonstrates the merits of its approach to Classical literature by showing that an awareness of media and medialities is conducive to original interpretations of well-studied ancient texts.