Sobre o Estilo de Demétrio Um olhar crítico sobre a Literatura Grega ...

ABSTRACT:
On Style is a work surrounded by many doubts; first of all, the question of dating and
authorship. Among authors, dates range from III century BC and II AD, and nothing is
known about Demetrius, who is assigned by the treatise to certain statements found in
manuscripts. In any way, it can be assumed as more likely that this work was written in the
first century BC, reflecting concepts of III and II centuries BC. The uncertainty in respect
to its audience, plus a considerable number of critical reflections on literary works, led
many authors to question whether the treatise would be a handbook of rhetoric or a work of
literary criticism. The most reasonable answer to these questions is that it is a handbook,
not for beginners, but for those who have already taken rhetorical courses of education and
have learned to write the so-called progymnasmata. It does not rule out the literary
criticism, on the contrary, it is not only present but also constitutes an important tool for
rhetorical theory. However, despite all this discussion, little has been explored about this
criticism, so that perceptions of Demetrius about authors cited by him remain, in most
cases, still unexplored. Thus, the aim in the introductory study of this work is to try to
unravel the paths that lead to this criticism, and thereby to better understand what
Demetrius has to say about the texts of these authors. Following, this work will bring a
translation of the work, still unpublished, for the Portuguese Language. The notes can
elucidate this text, yet so enigmatic for most of the readers of this language.
Keywords: Demetrius, On Style, Literary Criticism, Rhetoric, Style
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