Greek And Roman Literature.an Epistolary Poem Essay

Introduction: Epistolary poems are one of the ancient forms in literature which could be traced in Greek and Roman literature.An epistolary poem is written in a form of letter addressed to an individual or to a society. The term epistleis derived from the Latin term Epistula which means a letter. Poets present their poems in the form of letters appealing to emotions and feelings. Epistolary poems may be objective or subjective, formal or colloquial, directed to an individual or to a general public. It may take any form from heroic couplets to blank verse. While exploring the origin of epistolary form in poetry, the scholars could peg varied themes being dealt in the poems, from Philosophical concepts to daily mundane activities. Letters is a powerful medium that brings people together. Philosophers, sociologists, literary writers widely use the form of epistles to drive home their views and ideas effectively. Exploring the origin of epistolary poems lucidly illumines the fact that poets effuse their thoughts through epistles effectively. Epistolary poems are penned for pedagogical purpose also. The poems of epistles can be objective registering distant views pertaining to social issues or subjective imparting personal feelings and emotions of the writer. Origin of epistolary poems could be traced back to Roman Literature between 43 B.C to 17or 18 A.D when the great Roman poet Ovid wrote Heroides (The Heroines) or EpistulaeHeroidum (letters of Heroines) comprising of