Ars Poetica (Horace)

Ars Poetica, or "The Art of Poetry," is a poem written by Horace c. 19 BC, in which he advises poets on the art of writing poetry and drama. The Ars Poetica has "exercised a great influence in later ages on European literature, notably on French drama" and has inspired poets and authors since it was written.

The poem was written in hexameter verse as an Epistle (or Letter) to Lucius Calpurnius Piso (the Roman senator and consul) and his two sons, and is sometimes referred to as the Epistula Ad Pisones, or "Epistle to the Pisos". The first mention of its name as the "Ars Poetica" was c. 95 by the classical literary critic Quintilian in his Institutio Oratoria," and since then it has been known by that name.

"Written...in a loose conversational frame, the Ars poetica consists of 476 lines containing nearly 30 maxims for...poets." However, unlike philosopher Aristotle's formal treatise the Poetics, the Ars Poetica is not a systematic handbook of literary theory; nor, in spite of the respect accorded to it in later centuries, was it ever meant to be. It is a lively, entertaining verse-epistle, written by a well-read man for his friends, who shared his love of poetry and whose company we are invited to join.

Horace approaches poetry from a practical standpoint—as a craft, or ars—rather than the theoretical approach of his predecessors, Aristotle and the philosopher Plato. He also holds the poet in high regard, as opposed, for instance, to Plato, who distrusts mimesis and who has philosopher Socrates say in Book 10 of the Republic that he would banish poets from the ideal state.

The following is a brief outline of the main subjects of the work:

"Many of...[the] apt phrases [of the Ars Poetica]...have passed into common literary parlance." Four quotations in particular are associated with the work:

The work is also known for its discussion of the principle of decorum (the use of appropriate vocabulary and diction in each style of writing) (l.81-106), and for Horace's criticisms of purple prose (purpureus pannus, l.15-16), a term coined by him to mean the use of flowery language.

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