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Wordplays on proper names in metrical inscriptions of Late Antiquity
Agosti, Gianfranco
2021
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e-ISSN
2464-8760
Abstract
The paper deals with etymological wordplays on proper names in late antique metrical inscriptions, discussing some select examples from the 3rd to the 6th century AD, of both funerary and honorary epigrams. In most of the texts etymological puns on proper names are usually quite ‘easy’ to detect, but there are examples of more sophisticated wordplays that require a higher level of engagement from the reader. Their presence is a further evidence that metrical inscriptions were meant also to be read. If the targeted audience were primarily cultivated people, performative reading (perhaps accompanied by on-the-spot exegesis) probably also enabled less educated groups to appreciate etymological wordplays, which were after all extremely popular in antiquity.
Publisher
EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste
Source
Gianfranco Agosti, "Wordplays on proper names in metrical inscriptions of Late Antiquity", Trieste, EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, 2021, pp. 311-333.
Languages
it
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internazionale
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