Journal | Lexis
Journal issue | Num. 39 (n.s.) – Dicembre 2021 – Fasc. 2
Research Article | The Representation of Caesar’s Intervention in Battle as a Narrative Strategy in De bello Gallico: A Stylistic Analysis
The Representation of Caesar’s Intervention in Battle as a Narrative Strategy in De bello Gallico: A Stylistic Analysis
Abstract
The article scrutinises Caesar’s De bello Gallico narrative through offering an exhaustive analysis of one of the most relevant narrative strategies the Caesarian storytelling relies on: the artful representation of Caesar’s intervention in battle. The paper firstly illustrates how the accounts of Caesar’s activities during the combat are always depicted, across the seven books, as the turning point of a difficult situation for the Romans. Moreover, the article clarifies that these scenes share not only the exceptional results achieved by the commander, but also significant similarities on the diegetic, stylistic and rhetorical level. On this basis, the article argues that such analogies are part of a narrative strategy operating whenever the text describes Caesar’s action in a combat. A stylistic and rhetorical investigation on four exemplary cases is undertaken (Gall. 2.15-28, 3.14-15, 6.8 and 7.87); these passages are representative of the De bello Gallico general trend in depicting the author’s efforts during a struggle. The enquiry reveals that the Latin text always presents a comparable sequence of events preceding and following the account of Caesar’s accomplishments in battle and that similar lexicon and rhetorical figures are employed to support Caesar’s self-presentation as infallible commander.
Submitted: Aug. 5, 2020 | Accepted: May 18, 2021 | Published Dec. 20, 2021 | Language: it
Keywords Narrative strategies • Caesar • De bello Gallico • Rhetorical analysis • Close-reading
Copyright © 2021 Giacomo Ranzani. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/Lexis/2724-1564/2021/02/004
