The Heteronyms of Fernando Pessoa

‘Portugal’s four greatest poets from the twentieth century were Fernando Pessoa’, writes Richard Zenith. At first glance this seems absurd and confusing, but Pessoa’s work breaks the boundaries of identity and personhood as he adopts a plethora of personae and writes not only for himself but for hundreds of voices. A man whose very name means ‘person’, Pessoa is anything but. He is an

The Heteronyms of Fernando Pessoa

Wimbledon High Christmas List

As I am sure many of you know, Christmas is coming up, and naturally that raises the questions of what you want to ask for. If you are struggling for suggestions, we have just the list for you: a Christmas wish list in true Wimbledon High fashion:

Wimbledon High Christmas List

The Classical Manuscript Tradition

For thousands of years humanity has been recording more than we realise. Whether it be Linear B tablets showing trades in Ancient Mycenae, extracts of epic poetry in Byzantium or a shopping list on the back of a receipt, the written word is an intrinsic part of the way our society functions. The key question when considering this is then, how do we still have records of these texts from over 2 millennia ago, and where do they come from?

The Classical Manuscript Tradition

Comparing Dido and Cleopatra

Virgil’s epic, ‘The Aeneid’, tells the story of Aeneas; the dutiful Trojan hero who (after several sorrowful episodes) founds the city of Rome. It makes sense, therefore, that Virgil, writing under the first Roman emperor Augustus, creates links between the characters of his foundation myth and the powerful figures of ancient Rome which his readers inhabit.

Comparing Dido and Cleopatra