Roman literature
Cicero's literary tradition
Roman literature encompasses the body of written works produced in Latin by ancient Romans, spanning roughly from the 3rd century BCE through the decline of the Western Empire.
It includes poetry, drama, history, oratory, and philosophy—genres often modeled on Greek predecessors but adapted to Roman sensibilities.
Major figures include Virgil, Ovid, Cicero, and Seneca.
The term distinguishes classical Latin writing from later medieval Latin literature and from works in Romance languages that descended from Latin.
- HoraceMale name from antiquity
- carpe diemGrasp the present moment
- TacitusRoman senator and historian
- satireMockery exposing vice
- poetWriter of verse
Seneca · epic · Livy · Ovid · love poetry · irony · Virgil · Cicero · elegy · caesura · humor · pastoral · historiography · tragedy · lyric · Aeneid · epic poetry · Renaissance humanism
Roman literaturemodern literature
Recent centuries' written works
contemporary literature · medieval literature · postmodern literature · Renaissance literature · Victorian literature