The golden flower of youthbaroque metaphors in Nonnus and Marino

E M van Opstall

Nonnus of Panopolisrsquo mythological epic Dionysiaca on the god Dionysus (fifth-century

CE) is often characterized as lsquobaroquersquo This term poses a problem whether as a

historical term referring to the European seventeenth century or as a typological

category applicable to other periods of time it is much debated With regard to the

Dionysiaca it is nearly always applied rather intuitively To clarify its use I propose acomparison between a passage of the Dionysiaca and a passage of the Adone by the

seventeenth-century baroque poet Giambattista Marino I shall focus on one literary

device in particular poetic metaphor a distinctive feature of seventeenth-century

baroque poetry Following some preliminary remarks on the use of the term

lsquobaroquersquo I present a short introduction on Nonnus and Marino and on baroque

metaphor I then offer some tools for analysis followed by a detailed discussion of

the description of two beautiful satyr boys Nonnusrsquo Ampelus and Marinorsquos Pampino

Both poets are very fond of metaphors Close on the conceptual level but different inlinguistic expression their metaphors achieve a similar effect expressing change

instability illusion and metamorphosis mdash typically baroque preoccupations When

used to analyse and compare a creative principle the term lsquobaroquersquo can be a

stimulus for intertextual research

Nonnus of Panopolisrsquo vertiginous mythological epic Dionysiaca a poem in

forty-eight books on the pagan god Dionysus written in the fifth-century CE is

often characterized as lsquobaroquersquo This term poses a problem In the first place the

term lsquobaroquersquo (from the Portuguese lsquobarocorsquo lsquorough and irregular pearlrsquo)1 was used

for the first time by eighteenth-century art historians to describe the dynamic

exuberant curving style initiated by the European Counter-Reformation

(ca 1563ndash1648) As such it can refer to many artistic fields (architecture sculpture

painting literature and music) from many different countries although its precise

meaning is not always clear It is usually divided into different substyles the lsquoFlorid

Baroquersquo for Italy and Spain mdash dominated by Roman Catholic religious ideals and

motivations the lsquoClassical Baroquersquo (a contradiction in terms) for France mdash aris-

tocratic and courtly more subdued than its Southern counterpart and the

lsquoRestrained Baroquersquo for the Northern countries mdash Protestant simpler and less

ornate2 As a stylistic description it has subsequently been applied to other periods of

Correspondence VU University Department of Ancient Studies De Boelelaan 1105

1081 HV Amsterdam Netherlands emvanopstallvunl

1 For a different explanation of the origin of the term lsquobarocorsquo see Wellek (1946 77)

Classical Receptions Journal Vol 0 Iss 0 (2013) pp 1ndash25

The Author 2013 Published by Oxford University Press All rights reservedFor Permissions please email journalspermissionsoupcomdoi101093crjclt029

Classical Receptions Journal Advance Access published November 12 2013 by guest on N

ovember 13 2013

httpcrjoxfordjournalsorgD

ownloaded from

time and place and has become a general typological or psychological category

indicating a phenomenon occurring at the end of each period in no matter which

time or place Some see it as part of the binary opposition lsquoGothic-Baroque-

Romanticismrsquo versus lsquoClassical Antiquity-Renaissance-Neoclassicismrsquo and thus

constituting a kind of lsquoeternalrsquo Baroque3 Rene Wellek (1946 88ndash97) rejects

almost every attempt to define lsquobaroquersquo as being either too broad or too restricted

to be useful for concrete literary study As a second-best option he therefore pro-

poses to use lsquobaroquersquo as a period term embracing style and ideology or emotional

attitudes to show how certain stylistic devices express a definite view of the world4

Commentators using the term lsquobaroquersquo to describe Nonnusrsquo Dionysiaca do so in

different ways Often they are referring to the poemrsquos general overwhelming ex-

uberance its rich language its prolific digressions its twisting plot But the term is

also applied to more specific literary devices Nonnusrsquo fondness for variation para-

dox antithesis the creation of illusion the motif of circular movement To cite some

examples Albert Wifstrand (1933 81ndash82) argues that Nonnusrsquo verbs and epithets

indicating change becoming and transition create lsquoa real lsquolsquobaroquersquorsquo impressionrsquo

(lsquoeinen wahrhaften lsquolsquobarockenrsquorsquo Eindruckrsquo) Rudolf Keydell (1936 911ndash12) enumer-

ates augmentation accumulation the elaboration of often antithetic relations

musicality through alliteration and word play as elements of Nonnusrsquo lsquopredomin-

antly Baroque stylersquo (lsquodurchaus barocken Stilsrsquo) While discussing similar elements

DrsquoIppolito (1964 49ndash57) regards lsquobaroquersquo not only as a stylistic category but also

broadens the scope of the term he considers it a spiritual disposition a world view in

crisis He applies lsquobaroquersquo to everything which is the opposite of lsquoclassicalrsquo from

the Hellenistic period onwards While he regards Ovidrsquos Metamorphoses as the most

baroque poem of Roman Imperial literature Nonnusrsquo Dionysiaca is the supreme

example of Late Antique baroque presenting us with lsquoa total baroque vision of life

and artrsquo (lsquouna totale visione barocca della vita e dellrsquoartersquo) According to this theory

man was lost when he ceased to be part of the polis and consequently became

increasingly lsquobaroquersquo he found himself in a state of perpetual crisis running

from the third-century BCE up to the fifth-century CE Gianfranco Agosti

(1995 134 and 150ndash51) narrows the use of the term to stylistics considering

2 For this subdivision see Matthews and DeWitt Platt (2004 389)

3 For example Friedlander (1912 17) uses it for different lsquobaroque periods of poetryrsquo

(lsquoBarockperioden der Poesiersquo) from Late Hellenistic poetry onwards becoming fully

visible for the first time in Catullusrsquo artificial composition and affected style of poem

64 in lsquothe dissolution of the severe form into billows of images and feelingsrsquo DrsquoOrs

(1935) Huyghe (1969)

4 In his article Wellek offers a dazzling historical overview of the first technical evaluations

of the term lsquobaroquersquo its first application to other fields than art history (by Wolfflin in

1888) its geographical spread and its problematic use with regard to literature See also

Hatzfeld (1955) who also discusses the spread and the use of the term lsquobaroquersquo with

regard to literature proposing a strictly period-based and stylistic use of the term dir-

ectly following after the Italian Renaissance

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syncopated and non-linear narrative as typical of baroque style be it late antique

Greek baroque or Marinorsquos baroque To him baroque aesthetics mean an explor-

ation and an exaltation of disharmony centrifugality and broken time (lsquotempo

spezzatorsquo)5 In her book on Greek Poetry in the Egyptian Thebaid 200-600 AD

Laura Miguelez-Cavero (2008 188) equates poikil0a (variety) and baroque

The poikil0a has an effect on the overall design of the work [sc the Dionysiaca] but also at

small scale when in the composition of a particular passage several options are available

instead of choosing one Nonnus combines them all For instance when a male character in

the Dionysiaca meets a young woman instead of comparing her to only one goddess he

compares her to them all This feature no doubt baroque is characteristic of Byzantine

literature and can be found as well in compositions extant on papyrus

It is evident that the meaning of the term lsquobaroquersquo for Nonnusrsquo Dionysiaca varies

widely6 Because of its often facile use without clear definition there have been several

attempts in the past to reject it It has been called anachronistic and inadequate to

describe fifth-century poetry Margerete Riemschneider (1957) discusses Nonnusrsquo

preference for curved lines for the doubling of objects in images for paradox and

for associative composition but she explicitly refrains from using the term lsquobaroquersquo

considering it meaningless it either does not cover any one period in its entirety or is

simply used as a synonym of lsquoexaggeratedrsquo (pp 46ndash47)7 She does however call

Nonnus a lsquomanneristrsquo who does not insist on movement but rather avoids the static

(pp 53 55) Martin String (1966 3ndash4) is less sophistic but he also prefers to reserve

the use of lsquobaroquersquo for the seventeenth century For Wolfgang Fauth (1981 12) the

qualification of Nonnusrsquo poetry as lsquobaroquersquo is not exhaustive enough to describe all of

Nonnusrsquo characteristics and should therefore be avoided Francesco Tissoni (1998 56)

argues that although the term seems attractive it is too abstract and oversimplifying

its application to Nonnusrsquo Dionysiaca being anachronistic Recently the discussion has

been re-opened In his review of Miguelez-Caverorsquos book Silvio Bar (2010 73) ques-

tions the meaningfulness of the term lsquobaroquersquo in the context of Late Antique poetry

The term lsquobaroquersquo to describe the (Nonnian) poikil0a metaphorically is beloved and popu-

lar but needs further reflection one should especially question the meaning and the

usefulness of the metaphor

5 See also Agosti (1997 35) on Nonnusrsquo Paraphrase lsquoThe arduous depths of Johannine

theology are translated by Nonnus into a florid style the most accomplished expression

of baroque in Late Antiquityrsquo

6 See for recent exemples also Newbold (2010 82) lsquothe febrile baroque iconophile sen-

suality of the Dionysiacarsquo) and Giraudet (2011 I have not been able to consult this article)

7 See also Hernandez de la Fuente (2011 cautious with the use of baroque perhaps to be

replaced by mannerism) Both in the footsteps of Ernst Curtius (1948 ch 15) who

prefers the term lsquomannerismrsquo to lsquobaroquersquo as an a-historical conceptual instrument in

opposition to lsquoclassicismrsquo

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Instead of re-discussing the various standpoints in this debate which hover between

lsquotoo broadrsquo and lsquotoo restrictedrsquo (see Wellek above) I wish to take a different approach

and ask what happens when we compare a so-called lsquobaroquersquo poet from the fifth-

century CE with a poet from the seventeenth century who is widely regarded as the

most typical example of the Italian Baroque Do they use similar poetic mechanisms

Do they share stylistic and typological aspects In which way can a comparison help

to clarify the meaning and usefulness of the term lsquobaroquersquo in the case of Nonnusrsquo

Dionysiaca My analysis focuses on one literary device in particular the poetic figure

par excellence (as was already recognized by Aristotle) of poetic metaphor

Extravagant metaphors are seen as a distinctive feature of Italian Baroque poetry

as will be discussed below

In this article I present a comparison of Nonnus of Panopolis with Giambattista

Marino (1569ndash1625) The choice of this particular poet is not an arbitrary one

firstly Marino has been described as lsquothe most baroque of Baroque poetsrsquo (and by

some as lsquothe most talented charlatan in Italian literaturersquo)8 Secondly his gigantic

epic poem Adone (20 cantos 5123 ottave 40984 verses) is inspired by Nonnusrsquo

equally enormous epic poem Dionysiaca (48 books 20426 hexameters) there is

therefore at least some affinity between the two9 The sheer quantity of the verses

of both poets immediately calls for modesty I do not pretend to offer an exhaustive

comparison but rather restrict myself to a couple of short passages rich in meta-

phors and intimately linked on an intertextual level Nonnusrsquo description of the

young man Ampelus lover of the god Dionysus (Dion 10 177ndash92) and Marinorsquos

description of the young man Pampino lover of the god Dionysus (Ad 19 ott 66ndash

67) (partially) modelled on Nonnusrsquo Ampelus but with a different name (note the

pun lsquoAmpelusrsquo grape-vine mdash lsquoPampinorsquo vine-leaf a euphonic near-translation)

Nonnus and Marino some preliminary remarks

Nonnusrsquo mythological epic poem Dionysiaca was written in a turbulent period of

tensions between pagans and Christians10 It tells the history of the demi-god

Dionysus

The first books are dedicated to his ancestors beginning with the rape of Europa

by Zeus The next books describe his birth infancy and youth From book thirteen

8 Lind (1978 161) Although Marino is traditionally seen as the most baroque poet not

everybody agrees Hatzfeld (1955 159) for example sees Tasso as a representative of the

most pure baroque and Marino as a representative of an off-centred mannerism or

lsquobaroquismrsquo For a recent survey on the problem of Italian Baroque literature see

Russo (2012)

9 For a general introduction to Marinorsquos Adone see Martini (1993) For Nonnus and

Marino see Pozzi (1976 identifies the verses of Nonnus used by Marino ad loc)

Agosti (1995 148ndash51 on narrative structure) Tissoni (1998 56ndash62 an intertextual

comparison of a set of passages) and Gonnelli (2003 26ndash31 a brief survey)

10 See eg Shorrock (2011)

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onwards the central theme is Dionysusrsquo mission to bring happiness to mankind by

introducing the vine his travels eastwards to India and back again to Europe with

many military conquests and erotic adventures In the last book Dionysus is finally

deified The coherence of the narrative structure of the whole story is obscured by

the accumulation of loosely interrelated episodes full of metamorphoses and mytho-

logical exempla lsquoThe Dionysiaca has a verbal energy and a capacity for prolific

growth that makes it look like a literary version of the vine itselfrsquo as Shorrock

(2005 376) has vividly expressed it

The passage to be discussed in this article concerns Dionysusrsquo early years when

he meets Ampelus and falls in love But Ampelus is a proud and reckless satyr boy

against Dionysusrsquo will he rides a fierce bull falls from its back and is killed

Dionysus is deeply grieved but eventually finds consolation in Ampelusrsquo metamor-

phosis into a vine (the Greek word for vine is 4mplordquo) After this transformation

Ampelus will continue to play a central role in Dionysusrsquo mission to show mankind

the benefits of wine

The Greek text of the Dionysiaca (Laur 3216 of Maximus Planudes dd 1280)

arrived in Italy in the year 142311 Angelo Poliziano studied it from 1481 onwards

for him Nonnus like Ovid was a source of mythical information and inspiration

The editio princeps of the Dionysiaca dates from 1569 (by Falkenburg) and a first

Latin translation from 1605 (by Eilhard Lubin) Neither that Greek text nor the

Latin translation received much attention although a new edition of the text

(Hanau 1610) attracted negative criticism from Petrus Cunaeus Josephus

Justus Scaliger and Daniel Heinsius according to whom Nonnus could no longer

stand the test with Homer he was considered ignorant incomprehensible and

incapable of imitating the right models his narrative was judged chaotic and far

too digressive

Contemporary interest was clearly directed towards other more famous classical

authors But Marinorsquos personal taste was not completely in accordance with the

tradition of his time He was interested in many classical writers from different

periods not only the well known but also especially the lesser known from the

Hellenistic period up to Late Antiquity Among his Latin favourites were Virgil

Horace Ovid Pliny Statius Apuleius and above all Claudian His Greek favourites

included Apollonius of Rhodes Bion Achilleus Tatius Moschus pseudo-

Anacreon Musaeus and of course especially Nonnus Marino became lsquothe first

modern imitator of Nonnus and in a modern languagersquo12 His epic engages in a

11 For editors commentators and readers of Nonnus discussed here see Lind (1978) and

especially the excellent paragraph lsquoRicezione e Fortunarsquo by Tissoni (1998 44ndash62)

12 Lind (1978 161) For Marinorsquos innovative choice already signalled by contemporary

critics who oppose the couples Tasso-Homer and Marino-Nonnus see Pozzi (1976 93ndash

94) For the influence of Nonnus on other works by Marino such as Sampogna and

Atteone see De Malde (1993) pp 137ndash41

T H E G O L D E N F L O W E R O F Y O U T H

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lsquodialogue at distancersquo making use of various techniques verbal imitation whether

literal or modified transposition of verses amplification or condensation of epi-

sodes contamination by putting together different passages and arduous meta-

phor13 However since Marino could not read Greek he had to use Lubinrsquos

Latin translation probably in the bilingual edition by Lectius (1606) which contains

a huge corpus of Greek epic texts with Latin translations14 Thus while comparing

Nonnus and Marino we have to keep in mind that Marino read Nonnusrsquo hexameters

through Lubinrsquos pen Fortunately Lubin provided an extremely literal word-

for-word prose translation that poses no real problems for the purpose of the present

article Lubin rigorously respects the Greek word order as the following example

shows (Nonnus Dion 10 175ndash76)

ka0 pot qhr0wn 3p1 oslashwg0da d0skion 4lhrdquo

et aliquanto venans sub petra umbrosa sylvae

6likordquo 2iq oio oslashodTHORNpidi q lgto morrsquoI

aequalis iuvenis rosea delectabatur forma

Pozzi (1976 668) remarks that lsquoMarinorsquos language is extraordinary (its rhythm

prosody lexicon syntax) compared to the Lubinrsquos Latin translation which is

linguistically colourless and stylistically bloodlessrsquo Tissoni (1998 58) asserts that

a comparison with the arid translation of Nonnus by Lubin is useful in two ways lsquoit

permits us on the one hand to correctly evaluate Marinorsquos debt to the Dionysiaca

and on the other hand to become aware of his poetic ability which manifests itself in

extraordinary stylistic refinementrsquo Marino paraphrases and modifies Lubinrsquos trans-

lation lsquoreturning instinctively as it were to the original Greek textrsquo However he did

not use hexameters but ottava rima stanzas of eight verses in hendecasyllable with

rhyme scheme abababcc

LrsquoAdone composed during the Counter-Reformation between 1605 and 1623 and

published in Paris in 1623 tells the story of the goddess Venus and the human

Adonis Its narrative scheme is built around their union Adonis suffers shipwreck

and lands on Cyprus the island of Venus The goddess falls in love with him but

Adonis flees out of fear of her other lover the god Mars and turns into a parrot

Having regained his human shape he is taken captive by robbers Once free again

he wins a beauty contest and becomes king of Cyprus Eventually Adonis is killed by

13 See Tissoni (1998 59ndash62) who illustrates most of these techniques with passages for

metaphor he discusses Adone 1170 and Dion 12 9ndash14 followed by a parody of Marinorsquos

style in Stiglianirsquos Amante disperato 300ndash309 If not otherwise indicated the English

translations in this article are my own

14 Lectius Poetae graeci veteres carminis heroici scriptores qui extant omnes Aureliae

Allebrogum sumptibus Caldorianae Societatis MDCVI See Tissoni (1998 57ndash58) It

is difficult to quantify the importance of each of the individual models such as Ovid (see

Pozzi 1976 103ndash21 esp 117) and Claudian (see Agosti 1995 144ndash45 and 148) in the

development of his style

E M V A N O P S T A L L

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a boar sent by his rival Mars In canto 19 four divinities mdash Ceres Bacchus Thetis

and Apollo mdash try to console Venus by relating stories of six other youths who met an

untimely death Hyacintus (25ndash62) Pampino (63ndash123) Acis (124ndash232) Calamus

and Carpus (233ndash51) Leander (252ndash92) and Achilles (293ndash325) Eventually after

his funeral Adonisrsquo heart is turned into a red anemone The poem ends with funeral

games in honour of Adonis The story line of the Adone like that of the Dionysiaca is

complicated it is constantly interrupted by digressions descriptions repetitions

unexpected turns and irregular symmetries Metamorphosis is one of its main

motifs Another recurrent motif is that of lsquosmoderato piacer che termina in

dogliarsquo (lsquoboundless joy ending in sorrowrsquo Adone 1 10 8) References to Nonnus

can be found especially in cantos 18 and 19 (Adone 18 193ndash208 Amorrsquos quest on

Earth cf Dion 33 57ndash142 Adone 19 65ndash123 the Pampinus episode cf Dion 10

189ndash93 11 194ndash483 12 117ndash37 and 138ndash397 the Ampelus episode Adone 19

235ndash51 the Calamus and Carpus episode cf Dion 11 370ndash481 Eros tries to con-

sole Bacchus in the same manner)

The passage to be discussed in this article is taken from the story of Pampino It is

modelled upon Nonnusrsquo story of Ampelus in Dion 10ndash12 but reduced to four major

moments the first meeting the love-affair Pampinorsquos death and his

metamorphosis

Baroque metaphor

For Aristotle simile and metaphor belong to the same category a simile (2kTHORNn) is

seen as an extended metaphor and a metaphor (mtarsquoor0) as an abbreviated simile

when Homer says of Achilles lsquo3rdquo d l wn p0rousnrsquo (lsquohe jumped forward like a

lionrsquo) he uses a simile (with the comparative adverb 3rdquo) and when he says of

Achilles lsquol wn p0rousnrsquo (lsquothe lion jumped forwardrsquo) he uses a metaphor

(Rhet III 1406b20ndash23) According to Aristotle metaphor is a more intelligent

device than simile because while a simile is explicit metaphor is an invitation to

reflection The proof of the creative intelligence of a poet lies in the ability to see

similarities and turn them into metaphors He distinguishes four types of meta-

phors that is from genus to species from species to genus from species to species

and from analogy He warns several times against far-fetched metaphors as being too

poetic for prose or lacking clarity In rhetorical treatises of later periods in Antiquity

metaphor is usually considered a typically poetical stylistic device not to be used too

often in prose following Aristotle (Poet 22 7ndash17 Rhet III 1405a3ndashb19

1406b5ndash07a19 see also Top I 17)

One finds a positive attitude towards metaphor similar to Aristotlersquos in the

Italian Baroque period Meraviglia mdash marvel mdash caused by the use of dazzling

metaphors became a key aesthetic concept15 Producing this kind of metaphors

15 For a short and clear discussion of Italian baroque literature including the concepts of

meraviglia concetto acutezza and ingegno see Cherchi (1996) For more extensive stu-

dies on the baroque metaphor see Conte (1972) for Italian Baroque and Peters (1972) for

T H E G O L D E N F L O W E R O F Y O U T H

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involved using new themes (including objects from everyday life such as the hour-

glass) and expressing them in innovative ways (called concetti and acutezze) Many

baroque poets pushed the creation of extravagant metaphors to the limit According

to some Marino was one of them but according to others he was quite moderate

One of the most important contemporary theorists of metaphor Emmanuele

Tesauro expands the four types of metaphor proposed by Aristotle into eight

types In the chapter on lsquoMetaphorrsquo of his aesthetical treatise The Aristotelian

Telescope (1654ndash70 267) he writes that metaphor (which he calls lsquothe queen of

figuresrsquo) transforms immediate reality offering lsquoto the mind of the listener in

just one word the sight of a whole theatre of marvelsrsquo (lsquoun pien teatro di meravi-

gliersquo) The more distant and unexpected the similarities between tenor and vehicle16

of a metaphor the greater the wonder of the reader and the more laudable the ability

(ingegno) of the poet The baroque poet operates like a telescope drawing

together remote notions belonging to distant realities Ideas about the relation be-

tween tenor and vehicle changed Peters (1972 325ndash26) states that during the

Renaissance

the conceptual metaphor was bound to a system of knowledge which pointed to immut-

able relationships Tesaurorsquos metaphor instead reveals relationships which are quite arbi-

trary and not related to the level of intellectual truth For in the earlier tradition it was the

words which uncovered the conceptual idea given in the metaphor whereas with

Tesauro the implication is that the metaphor itself creates a kind of reality and imposes it

on the word

Baroque metaphors no longer uncover a system of relations of unchangeable

correspondences expressing the stability embodied in creation Instead the baroque

ingegno accumulates series of unexpected sensual images consonant with the

instability and fluidity of the world In his Metafora barocca Conte (1972 40)

distinguishes one special type of baroque metaphor it is characterized by the

extension of the absence of the tenor and by the lateral ramification of the meaning

of the vehicle17 He illustrates this with the following verses of the Italian Baroque

poet and follower of Marino Francesco de Lemene (1634ndash1704) De Lemene

comparing a womanrsquos breasts with lilies and her lips with roses invites the bees

metaphors in the Adone Compare also the important study of Rousset (1954 185ndash89)

and Hallyn (1975) for metaphors in French Baroque literature

16 Originally coined by IA Richards (1936) these terms are still widely used in metaphor

studies In Saussurian terms tenor is the signified and vehicle the signifier see section lsquoA

set of practical tools for analysisrsquo below

17 lsquoLa Metafora barocca e caratterizzata dal prolungamento dellrsquoassenza del segno virtuale e

dalla diramazione laterale del significato del segno presentersquo To avoid confusion I trans-

late lsquosegno virtualersquo as tenor and lsquosegno presentersquo as vehicle

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to come lsquodrainrsquo (lsquosvenarersquo which means literally lsquoto cut someonersquos veinsrsquo lsquoto bleed

someone dryrsquo)

ite volate

a quel labbro a quel seno api ingegnose

per fabricar dolcezze ite svenate

di quel sen di quel labbro e gigli e rose

come fly

to this lip to this breast clever beesto make sweetness come drain

the lilies and roses of that breast that lip

Part of this metaphor is traditional belonging to the canon of beauty developed from

the Middle Ages to the Renaissance (the colour of) the womanrsquos breast is like lilies

(white) and that of her lip like roses (red)18 But the metaphor is pushed one step

further (and here begins a baroque novelty) the vehicle (the flowers) is amplified by

the summoning of the bees from the realm of associations of the tenor They are

invited to participate actively in the illusion The vehicle of the metaphor is given life

and motion as it were and whirls around itself in a figurative play a literary trompelrsquoœil This kind of extreme metaphor shows that the relation between vehicle and

tenor which had been stable during the Renaissance began to destabilize during the

Baroque the distance between the two increased and the vehicle became auto-

referential vehicles themselves referred to further vehicles instead of to tenors

A set of practical tools for analysis

Much more can of course be said on theories of baroque metaphor but the proposed

method of this article is to make a factual comparison between two passages of Nonnus

and Marino I will briefly present two modern models of metaphor that will both serve

as practical tools for analysis First a linguistic model for which I chose the model

presented by Pasini (1972) not because it is particularly innovative but because it offers

a clear insight into the gradual differences between simile and metaphor at the level of

expression in language19 And secondly a conceptual model as proposed by Lakoff

(1980) and Lakoff and Turner (1989) and further developed by Steen (forthcoming)

because their point of departure is the concepts that lie behind linguistic expressions

Lakoff (1980) and Lakoff and Turner (1989) conceived their theory as a reaction to the

traditional approach of metaphor as a rhetorical device showing that metaphors are

omnipresent in everyday life and language and work conventionally automatically and

unconsciously Steen (forthcoming) distinguishes between a communicational (delib-

erate versus non-deliberate) conceptual (conventional versus novel) and linguistic level

18 More on the canon of beauty follows in section lsquoTwo beautiful satyr boysrsquo below

19 In addition to Pasini I used from the huge amount of literature on metaphor Brooke-

Rose (1958) and Van Boven and Dorleijn (2003)

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of metaphor introducing by the backdoor literary metaphor (belonging to the cat-

egory of deliberate metaphor) in Conceptual Metaphor Theory

The literary function of a metaphor does not just reside in the underlying cross-domain

comparison that is the basis of every metaphor Metaphor in poetry is often multi-layered

with many relations to other aspects of the text and its language which makes it strongly

dependent on all sorts of other information throughout the poem and the knowledge it

assumes All of this may be seen as highly typical of the use of metaphor in poetry

Pasini (1972) discerns four linguistic stages between simile on the one hand and

metaphor on the other hand ranging from a closed to an open message Each stage

can be explained by an example a description and a diagrammatic representation20

His cheeks are fresh like roses

This simile with the comparative adverb lsquolikersquo as an indicator includes a tenor

(cheeks A) a vehicle (roses B) and a ground (or tertium comparationis fresh C) It

is a closed construction leaving no space for the imagination of the reader This kind

of comparison is judged the most rational of the four stages because it is the most

specific and requires no leap of imaginative intellect to understand the ground on

which the comparison is made

His cheeks are like roses

This comparison with indicator (like) tenor (cheeks A) and a vehicle (roses B) does

not contain a ground (C) In this case the reader has to supply one or more of the

characteristics of the rose (freshness or red colour or sweet perfume etc) by

generalization and add this information on his own account to the comparison

This type one step closer to metaphors of type (3) and (4) is called by some a

lsquometaphorical comparisonrsquo the process of supplying by generalization is already

present but the process of identification is still absent

20 I thank Jaap Fokkema (VU University) for drawing the four figures after Pasini (1972) who

in his turn is inspired by the Rhetorique Generale (Paris 1970) of the French lsquoGroupe mrsquo

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a His cheeks are roses

b The roses of his cheeks

This is a metaphor in praesentia it has a tenor (cheeks A) and a vehicle (roses B) but

being a metaphor it lacks both indicator and ground (C) In example (3a) the verb lsquoto

bersquo functions as a link and identifies the vehicle and the tenor with each other (in

French this use of the verb lsquoto bersquo is called lsquolrsquoest drsquoequivalencersquo)

On his face two roses

This is a metaphor in absentia in which the indicator the ground (C) as well as the

tenor (A) are absent and have to be supplied by the imagination of the reader The

vehicle lsquorosesrsquo refers not only to the concept of lsquorosesrsquo but also metaphorically to the

concept of lsquocheeksrsquo This kind of metaphor is the least rationalizing (the lsquoto bersquo of

example (3a) can still be considered a lsquorationalizingrsquo element) and the most open (the

reader has to generalize and to supply)

Lakoff presents a conceptual theory of everyday metaphor in Metaphors We LiveBy (1980) which is the basis of the study of poetical metaphor by Lakoff and Turner

in More Than Cool Reason a Field Guide to Poetic Metaphor (1989) He maintains

that the locus of metaphor is not in language (compare figure 4 below the line) but in

the way we conceptualize one mental domain in terms of another (compare figure 4

above the line) Metaphors make use of cross-domain conceptual mappings and are

cast in individual linguistic expressions21 In this theory the tenor is a linguistic

expression that belongs to the so-called target domain and the vehicle is a linguistic

expression that belongs to a so-called source domain The set of ontological corres-

pondences between these two domains can be represented in a mapping To give an

example a conceptual mapping of Pasinirsquos above-mentioned four types would look

like the following

People (target domain) plants (source domain)

youth corresponds to flowering

young person corresponds to blossoming rose

21 Interestingly the idea of the crossing of domains has been phrased in a less theoretical

and a more poetic way by Tesauro (1654ndash70 267)

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pink skin corresponds to red colour

young skin corresponds to freshness

aging corresponds to withering

So the tenor lsquocheeksrsquo belongs to the target domain lsquopeoplersquo and the vehicle lsquorosersquo

belongs to the source domain lsquoplantrsquo Thus while Pasinirsquos typology provides for a

formal analysis at a linguistic level Lakoffrsquos extra-linguistic concerns are centred on

a conceptual level His theory permits us to reflect on the concepts and ideas under-

lying metaphors

Two beautiful satyr boys

Ampelus

In this section I will discuss the two passages of Nonnus and Marino In Dionysiaca

10 175ndash92 the external narrator introduces the young Ampelus future lover of

Dionysus for the first time (as explained in paragraph II) He describes him as

follows

175 ka0 pot qhr0wn 3p1 oslashwg0da d0skion 4lhrdquo

6likordquo 2iq oio oslashodTHORNpidi q lgto morrsquoI

4dh g1r Frug0hrdquo 3p1 dir0da koNrordquo 2q0rwn

Amplordquo 2 xhto notrrsquo rdquo ernordquo ErTHORNtwn

o2d o3 3br1rdquo 4oulordquo ruqom noio gn0ou

180 4cnoa cion hrdquo car0ssto k0kla pariPrdquo

6bhrdquo cr0son 4nqordquo 2pisqop0roio d ca0thrdquo

b0trurdquo 3lik0ntrdquo prsquo 2rgursquo wn q on Œmwn

2plk rdquo ligurN d sunaiq0ssontrdquo 2ndasht

4sqmati koursquo0zonto parlkom nwn d kom0wn

185 2krorsquoan1rdquo 2n tll m sordquo gumno0mnordquo a2c1n

ka1 s lardquo 2k0ntiz lip0skiordquo oJ0 t l0mpi

mssorsquoan1rdquo n rsquoordquo 3gr1n 2nasc0zousa Slndashnh

ka1 st0matordquo oslashod oio ml0pnoordquo err rsquownndash

k ml wn drsquo 7lon Iar rsquoa0nto nisom nou d

190 k pod1rdquo 2rgursquo oio oslash0dwn ruqa0nto limTHORNn

2 d booglndashnwn rsquoa wn 2rsquogg i k0klN

2rsquoqalmo1rdquo l lizn 7lh sl0giz Slndashnh22

175 Once while hunting under a shady cliff of a wood

he was charmed by the rosy form of a young comrade

For under the ridge of the Phrygian hills the merry boyhad already matured Ampelus a new shoot of the gods of Love

For him no dainty bloom of a reddening chin

180 had marked the smooth circles of his snow-white cheeks

the golden flower of youth curling clusters of long hair

22 Greek text Chretien (1985) translation Rouse (1940) adapted

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ran down over his silvery-glistering shoulders

loosely and waving in the whispering wind

were lifted by its breath When the hair was blown aside

185 the bare neck appeared between just visible

and unshadowed light flashed from him just as the moon shines

half appearing when she pierces a damp cloudFrom his rosy mouth streamed a honey-breathing voice

Spring itself appeared from his limbs under the steps

190 of his silvery foot the meadow blushed with roses

and if he turned his eyes their bright iris gleaming

with the glow of a cowrsquos eye the light of the full moon shone

The satyr boy is described from head to toe (a procedure also propagated in exercises

on ekphrasis in the rhetorical handbooks of Late Antiquity see Aphthonius Prog

12) and in movement with major attention to the upper body parts the poet shows

us his cheeks (vv 179ndash81) hair shoulders neck (vv 181ndash87) mouth and voice

(v 188) moving on to his limbs and feet (vv 189ndash90) and eventually turns upwards

again towards eyes (vv 191ndash92) As often in erotic descriptions in Antiquity (espe-

cially from Hellenistic and Second Sophistic literature onwards) this passage

abounds with erotic topoi23 The setting is painted with stock images of the natural

world the shady wood the gentle breeze the flowery meadow these are all present

Everything (the satyr boy and his surroundings) is sweet young and blooming

The incredibly rich description of the effect of the different body parts ends in the

visual climax of the appearance of the moon first barely visible then half appearing

then fully visible The expressions 2krorsquoanndashrdquo (v 185) mssorsquoanndashrdquo (v 187) and 7lh

(v 192) also evoke the different stages of the cycle of the moon mdash new waxing and

full mdash intimately linked with the growth of plants in nature24

However many bucolic elements are used metaphorically the flower of youth a

rosy mouth a honey-breathing voice etc The metaphors in this description appeal

to all our senses to our eyes by the use of colours (red white golden silver) and

contrasts (brightndashdark) to our touch (his beardless cheeks) and to our ears and smell

(his honey-breathing voice) In her fascinating study of metaphors in the Dionysiaca

Daria Gigli Piccardi (1985) distinguishes in Nonnus three (archetypical) source

domains for metaphors of beauty two of which occur in this passage Firstly the

source domain lsquoflowersrsquo from individual flowers to spring meadows full of

23 The flowering youth of men around the age of their first beard the rosy mouth the

spring meadow are all common themes in Greek Hellenistic erotic literature but Nonnus

innovates by adding unusual elements (such as the neck also present in other descrip-

tions of beauty in the Dionysiaca) and particular formulations (see below) See Gigli

Piccardi (2003 700ndash703 ad vv 175ndash92) For a list of other studies on beauty in

Nonnus see Chretien (1985 142 ad vv 175ndash92)

24 Chretien (1985 144 ad v 192) and Gigli Piccardi (2003 700ndash701 ad vv 175ndash92)

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contrasting colours Secondly the source domain lsquoastral phenomenarsquo playing with

the opposition light-dark25

On a formal level we find only one simile in vv 186ndash87 introducing the theme of

the moon It belongs to Pasinirsquos type 1 (see section lsquoA set of practical tools for analysisrsquo

above) unshadowed light (s lardquo lip0skiordquo tenor A) flashed (2k0ntiz ground C)

just as (oJ0 t indicator) half appearing the moon (Slndashnh vehicle B) shines (l0mpi

ground C) when she pierces a damp cloud (nrsquoordquo 3gr1n 2nasc0zousa vehicle B)

Besides this simile there are ten metaphors in praesentia (belonging to Pasinirsquos type 3)

and two metaphors in absentia (belonging to Pasinirsquos type 4) These metaphors are

expressed in a variety of ways which will be discussed below

(1) The most explicit type is the metaphor in apposition occurring very often in

Nonnus The comma after the tenor shows that we are dealing with such a metaphor

in apposition

tenor (A = noun) vehicle (B = noun thorn adjective) of X

a Amplordquo (A) notrrsquo rdquo e rnordquo (B) ErTHORNtwn (X) (v 178)

Ampelus (A) a new shoot (B) of the Loves (X)

b 3br1rdquo 4oulordquo ruqom noio gn0ou (A) 6bhrdquo (X) cr0son 4nqordquo (B) (vv 179-81)

the dainty bloom of a reddening chin (A) the golden flower (B) of youth (X)

(2) Another type of metaphor also very frequent in Nonnus links a metaphorical

adjective (vehicle) to a noun (tenor)

tenor (A = noun) thorn vehicle (B = metaphorical adjective)

a oslashodTHORNpidi (B) morrsquoI (A) (v 176) ndash rosy (B) form (A)

b cion hrdquo (B) pariPrdquo (A) (v 180) ndash snow-white (B) cheeks (A)

c 2rgursquo wn (B) Œmwn (A) (v 182) ndash silvery-glistering (B) shoulders (A)

d st0matordquo (A) oslashod oio (B) (v 188) ndash rosy (B) mouth (A)

e ml0pnoordquo (B) rsquownndash (A) (v 188) ndash a honey-breathing (B) voice (A)

f pod1rdquo (A) 2rgursquo oio (B) (v 190) ndash silvery (B) foot (A)

g booglndashnwn (B) rsquoa wn (A) (v 191) ndash cowrsquos eye (B) glow (A)

(3) In Nonnus the metaphor in absentia is restricted to the more common metaphors

of the flower domain In the following example the vehicle is a noun phrase whereas

the nature of the tenor becomes clear from the addition of a noun or noun phrase in

apposition It is to be noted that the word b0trurdquo is normally used for lsquoclusters of

vinersquo and points already to Ampelusrsquo future metamorphosis

vehicle (B = noun thorn adjective) of X (= noun thorn adjective in genitive)

a 2pisqop0roio d ca0thrdquo (X) b0trurdquo (B) 3lik0ntrdquo (vv 182-83) ndash curling clusters (B) of

long hair (A)

25 The third source domain individuated by Gigli Piccardi is that of lsquothe war of loversquo full of

contrasts between real and metaphorical weapons

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from X (= preposition thorn noun) appears vehicle (B = noun thorn adjective)

b k ml wn (A) 7lon Iar (B) rsquoa0nto (v 189)

From his limbs (A) spring itself (B) appeared

(4) As Gigli Piccardi (1985 70) already noticed Nonnus invented his own extended

metaphorical formula lsquoan autonomous linguistic constellationrsquo lsquowhen X becomes

visible Y appearsrsquo (sometimes followed by a comparison) Whereas the theme of the

moon is introduced by a comparison in vv 186ndash87 it is closed in vv 191ndash92 by such

a lsquoNonnianrsquo metaphor

2 d booglndashnwn rsquoa wn 2rsquogg i k0klN 2rsquoqalmo1rdquo l lizn (X) 7lh sl0giz Slndashnh (Y)

and if he turned his eyes with their bright iris gleaming with a cowrsquos eye glow (X) the light of the

full moon shone (Y)

The large number of metaphors cast in many different forms results in a descrip-

tion that is far from literal The blooming satyr boy and the blooming spring mingle

both being connected to the three phases of the moon Ampelus almost becomes

Bacchic nature himself His first meeting with the God already contains the promise

of his own future metamorphosis the expression b0trurdquo as noticed above being

one of its most explicit indicators26 The golden flower of youth not only contains

life but also death and resurrection Thus the totality of the metaphors expresses

perpetual change

Pampino

As we have seen in section lsquoBaroque metaphorrsquo the story of Pampino belongs to a set

of love-stories told by the gods to Venus as a consolation after the death of her lover

Adonis In Adone 19 ott 66ndash67 the god Dionysus describes the beautiful Pampino

ott 66 La bella fronte gli adorno Natura

di gentil maesta drsquoaria celeste

Dolce color di fragola matura

4 gli facea rosseggiar le guance oneste

Nela bocca ridea la grana pura

tra schiette perle in doppio fil conteste

ne quivi avea la rosa purpurina

8 prodotta ancor la sua dorata spina

ott 67 La notte tenebrosa il ciel turbato

si rischiarava dersquo begli occhi al lume

Il vago piede imporporava il prato

4 la bianca mano innargentava il fiume

Qualor lievrsquoaura con soave fiato

confondendogli il crin scotea le piume

26 See also Gigli Piccardi (1985 69) and (2003 700ndash1 ad vv 175ndash92)

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parea sparso su rsquol collo il bel tesoro

8 sovra un colle drsquoavorio un bosco drsquooro

ott 66 His beautiful forehead Nature adorned

with refined nobility with heavenly looks

The sweet colour of ripe strawberries4 painted his honest cheeks red

In his mouth pure pomegranate laughed

set between real pearls in a double row

There the purple rose had not

8 yet produced her golden thorns

ott 67 The shady night the darkened sky

brightened at the light of his beautiful eyesHis yearning foot turned the meadow purple

4 his white hand turned the river silver

When a gentle breeze with its soft breath

playing with his hair shook his feathers

on his neck the beautiful treasure seemed to spread out

8 on an ivory hill a forest of gold

This description of Pampino owes much to Nonnusrsquo description of Ampelus but is

at the same time different Since Marino uses and plays with the Renaissance canon

of beauty I will discuss this canon briefly in order to gain a better understanding of

the Pampino passage

The topos of beauty began to acquire fixed rules during the Middle Ages and was

completely canonized by the Renaissance27 From the Middle Ages onwards two

types of canon for feminine beauty were developed the short and the long canon

The short canon (used by Petrarch) focuses on the face mentioning hair eyes

mouth and cheeks Hand and breast are briefly referred to forehead and neck are

seldom included The long canon (used by Boccaccio and Ariosto) adds more detail

and leads the gaze further downwards from head to toe Central features of the short

canon are splendour (light) and colour (white) whereas the long canon emphasizes

harmonious proportions (of the body)

Renaissance poets use set comparisons and oppositions such as lsquoredrsquo versus

lsquowhitersquo But within these fixed boundaries there were ample possibilities for vari-

ance One way to play with conventions was the following a poet could mention only

one element of an opposition and thereby automatically evoke its counterpart in the

27 For an overview of Greek poetry up to the Byzantine period see Jax (1933) with dis-

turbing racist emphasis on lsquodas weibliche Schonheitsideal der weiszligen Rassersquo for the

Latin Middle-Ages see Faral (1962 esp p 75 ss) Sidonius Apollinarisrsquo portrait of

Theodoric (Ep I 2 2 sixth century) is seen as the best model for descriptions of persons

by Geoffroy de Vinsauf (Poetria nova 1210 CE) for the Renaissance see Pozzi (1979 and

1984)

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mind of the audience For example if he described a hand a foot was to be imagined

by the reader when a rose was mentioned it was intended that a lily be brought to

mind etc

Favourite source domains for metaphors were in the first place flowers roses

lilies and violets for colour and evanescence secondly precious materials pearls

rubies coral and gold for colour and diamond and sapphire for splendour and

thirdly lsquoheavenly bodiesrsquo stars and the sun for splendour and movement For

special effects these elements could be combined into homogeneous or heteroge-

neous couples a lily and a rose or ivory and a rose etc

How are these images used and constructed in the present passage from

Marino Marino combines the two canons adopting the short canon for his descrip-

tion of the young man and then enumerating his several parts from head to toe He

begins with the (moral) qualities given by Nature to Pampinorsquos forehead (ott 66

1ndash2) continues with his cheeks mouth and cheeks again (ott 66 3ndash8) then turns to

his eyes (ott 67 1ndash2) to his foot and hand (ott 67 3ndash4 the foot belonging to the

long canon) and finally to his hair and neck (ott 67 5ndash8) Marino adds various

(moral) qualifications The first octave is relatively quiet drawing as it were

Pampinorsquos portrait Its three source domains for the metaphors are lsquofruitrsquo lsquoprecious

materialsrsquo lsquoflowersrsquo (pomegranate pearl rose) connected with contrasting colours

(red white and golden) and positive qualifications (beautiful refined heavenly

sweet honest pure real) The second octave is stirred by movement the

sky brightens Pampinorsquos touch turns nature into something else the playing

wind shakes hair locks spreads out It also introduces the opposition light-dark

(shady night darken brighten light) The source domains of the second octave

are lsquobucolic landscapersquo (meadow river breeze) and lsquoprecious materialsrsquo

(silver gold)

As is to be expected Marino is fond of metaphors and expresses them in

various ways But unlike Nonnus he obviously prefers metaphors in absentia

(Pasinirsquos type 4 see section lsquoA set of practical tools for analysisrsquo above)

The description of Pampino includes moral and physical qualities In ott 66 3ndash4

the strawberry (lsquodolce color di fragola maturarsquo lsquothe sweet colour of ripe strawberriesrsquo)

paving the way for the source domain lsquofruitrsquo is followed by a series of metaphors

(1) There are several instances of metaphors in absentia which are intelligible when

one looks at either the direct context in which they are embedded or at the existing

Renaissance conventions

vehicle (B = noun thorn- adjective)

a la grana pura (ott 66 5) ndash pure pomegranate (sc in his mouth gt tongue)

b schiette perle (ott 66 6) ndash real pearls (sc in double row gt teeth)

c rosa purpurina (ott 66 7) ndash purple rose (sc there gt on his cheeks gt beard)

d le piume (ott 67 6) ndash feathers (of his hair gt locks of hair)

e tesoro (ott 67 7) ndash treasure (his rich hair)

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(2) To these examples two metaphorical verbs can be added

vehicle (B = verb)

a imporporava (ott 67 3) ndash turned purpleb innargentava (ott 67 4) ndash turned silver

(3) The following metaphor in absentia is qualified by a metaphorical adjective

vehicle (B = noun thorn adjective)

la sua dorata spina (ott 66 8) ndash her golden thorns (reddish-blonde bristles)

(4) Another variant are the metaphors in absentia that combine two metaphorical

expressions

vehicle (B = noun) of vehicle (B = noun)

a colle (B) drsquoavorio (B) (ott 67 8) ndash an ivory hill (of his white neck)

b un bosco (B) drsquooro (B) (ott 67 8) ndash a forest of gold (of his blond hair)

(5) Taken together two final verses of ott 67 are an example of a typical baroque

metaphor (discussed in section lsquoA set of practical tools for analysisrsquo) a concatenation

of metaphorical images Ott 67 7 is elaborated in the next verse by a metaphor in

apposition on neck (tenorrsquo) the beautiful treasure (tenorrsquorsquo) on an ivory hill (vehiclersquo)a forest of gold (vehiclersquorsquo) Both vehicles are from the source domain lsquolandscapersquo (hill

forest) and continue the image of the previous bucolic description (meadow river

breeze) But at the same time the lsquotreasurersquo (tenorrsquorsquo) is already itself a metaphor (for

lsquohairrsquo) from another source domain (lsquoprecious materialsrsquo) that is elaborated by its

own two metaphorical adjectives lsquoivoryrsquo and lsquogoldrsquo from the same source domain As

we have seen with the example of Lemene the image evokes a further image

creating a kind of lsquoliterary trompe lrsquoœilrsquo

On tenor (Arsquo = noun) tenor (Arsquorsquo = noun) on vehicle (Brsquo noun thorn Brsquorsquo adjec) vehiclersquorsquo

(Brsquorsquo noun thorn Brsquorsquo adjec)

su rsquol collo (Arsquo) il bel tesoro (Arsquorsquo) sovra un colle drsquoavorio (Brsquothorn Brsquorsquo) un bosco drsquooro (Brsquorsquothorn Brsquorsquo)

Some intertextual notes

Apart from the topoi shared by Nonnus and Marino it is easy to see that several of

Marinorsquos verses in ott 67 are closely modelled on Nonnus of course in Lubinrsquos

translation (ed 1606)28 Marino ott 67 1ndash2 (darkness flees before Pampinorsquos eyes)

28 175 Et aliquanto venans sub petra umbrosa sylvae Aequalis iuvenis rosea delectabatur

forma Nunc etenim Phrygiae sub colle puer ludens Ampelus crescebat nuper

enutritus ramus amorum Neque ipsi mollis lanugo rubentis menti 180 Imberbes

nivea signaverat circulos maxilla Iuventae aureum florem In tergum reiectarum vero

comarum Racemi flexuosi super splendidis currebant humeris Non complicati Suavi

vero una concitati cum aura Flatu elevabantur Retractis vero comis 185 In

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combines Nonnus vv 186ndash87 (Ampelusrsquo neck is like the moon shining though

clouds) and vv 191ndash92 (when Ampelus looks the moon shines) Marino ott 67

3ndash4 (Pampinorsquos foot and hand transform meadow and river) is like Nonnus vv

189ndash90 (Ampelusrsquo limbsfoot elicit spring and flowers in the meadow) Marino

ott 67 5ndash6 (the wind playing with Pampinorsquos hair and showing his neck) is similar

to Nonnus vv 183ndash85 (the wind playing with Ampelusrsquo hair and revealing his neck)

Marino was unable to borrow Nonnusrsquo image of Ampelusrsquo foot eliciting spring

because Falkenburgrsquos text and Lubinrsquos translation present a different textual reading

from Chretienrsquos Falkenburg does not have (drsquo7lon) Iar (lsquospringrsquo) but (g1r) 5niar

which was translated as lsquoemolumentumrsquo (lsquogainrsquo) by Lubin

There are however some significant differences To describe the effect of the

Ampelusrsquo neck and eyes Nonnus introduces the image of the moon emerging through

the clouds while evoking simultaneously the moon cycle He begins with a compari-

son and continues with a metaphor spread out over eight verses To describe the

instant effect of Pampinorsquos eyes Marino (or to be more precise the narrator

Dionysus) simply states a truth a hyperbolic truth the light of Pampinorsquos eyes illu-

minates darkness To describe the effect of the neck of the satyr boy he introduces the

landscape and treasure metaphor The importance of the neck seems to point towards

another intertext the description of feminine beauty in the Song of Songs29 The lovers

in the Song of Songs describe each other in metaphorical terms their eyes hair teeth

lips voice cheeks neck breast and overall fairness etc (he in 4 she in 5 10ndash16 he

again in 6 4ndash7 and 7 1ndash9) Among the many source domains in the Song of Songs

lsquofruitrsquo lsquoastral phenomenarsquo and lsquoprecious materialsrsquo are present too To give some

examples her temples are pomegranates (4 3) his arms are rods of gold set with topaz

(5 14) she appears like the dawn the moon the sun the stars (6 10) and last but not

least her neck is an ivory tower (7 4)30 Elsewhere in the Adone (as often in Italian

Baroque poetry) Christian imagery is also clearly present31

summitate apparens oriebatur media nudata cervix Et fulgorem eiaculabatur umbram

relinquens qualia lucet In medio apparens nubem humidam perrumpens Luna Et

oris rosei mel spirans (Lectius 1606 lsquospiansrsquo instead of lsquospiransrsquo) fluebat oratio Ex

membris enim emolumentum (Falkenburg reads g1r 5niar lsquogainrsquo where Chretien has

drsquo7lon Iar) apparebat Cum iret vero 190 Ex pede argenteo pedum (Falkenburg reads

2rgur oio pod8n instead of Chretienrsquos 2rgursquo oio oslashod8n) rubebat pratum Cum vero

faciei bovinae ventorum (Falkenburg has 2n mwn instead of Chretienrsquos rsquoa wn Lectius

1606 has lsquobavinaersquo for lsquobovinaersquo) illustri circulo Oculos circumvertisset tota resplen-

debat Luna

29 Parallels between the Song of Songs and Greek love poetry are already present in Greek

poetry from Antiquity see various articles in Hagedorn (2005)

30 Paradoxically Marino is closer to the Hebrew original (that he was unable to read) than

to the Latin translation of the Vulgate (which he must have used) the Vulgate turns most

of the original metaphors into similes with the indicator lsquosicutrsquo

31 For example the suggested parallel between Adone and Christ condemned by the

Inquisition a nymph acting as Judas revealing Adonersquos hiding place and committing

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Marino changes some of Nonnusrsquo explicit (rationalizing see Pasini section lsquoA set

of practical tools for analysisrsquo) images into more implicit (open see Pasini section

lsquoA set of practical tools for analysisrsquo) ones evoking a concatenation of associations

The image of Ampelusrsquo silvery footstep (Greek 2rguroioLatin argenteo) that

turned the meadow red with roses is adapted to Marinorsquos own time Pampinorsquos

foot is no longer silvery but lsquovagorsquo (a reminiscence of Petrarcarsquos lsquovago piersquo)32 and it

still turns the meadow purple but the reader has to supply the exact nature of the

purple (eg purple gt flower gt rose) Since in the Renaissance canon lsquofootrsquo evokes

lsquohandrsquo and since the colour lsquopurplersquo evokes the contrast lsquowhitersquo Pampinorsquos foot and

the purple meadow in ott 67 3 lead lsquospontaneouslyrsquo to lsquohis white handrsquo in ott 67 4

Finally Nonnusrsquo lsquosilveryrsquo is not lost but transformed into the metaphorical verb

lsquoturned into silverrsquo (an interesting invention to provoke a new contrast in the readerrsquos

mind because the story is situated in Phrygia with its proverbially gold-gleaming

river Pactolus)33

What can we conclude on the basis of the similarities and differences in the

passages of Nonnus and Marino about their use of metaphor

First it is evident that Nonnus and Marino are equally fond of metaphors

Nonnusrsquo eighteen verses contain twelve metaphors and one comparison Marinorsquo

sixteen verses contain twelve metaphors On a quantitative level the abundant and

cumulative use of metaphors by Nonnus could be called lsquobaroquersquo

Secondly we have seen that on a conceptual level Nonnus and Marino share some

characteristics but not all Both poets work with the contrasting couples red-white

and light-dark and use the source domain lsquoflowerrsquo But the more traditional source

domains lsquoprecious materialsrsquo and lsquofruitrsquo inherited by Marino from the Renaissance

canon of beauty are barely or not at all present in Nonnus at least not in this passage

Thirdly at the linguistic level Nonnus and Marino clearly employ different

kinds and complexities of metaphor Nonnus on the one hand uses a concatenation

of metaphors in praesentia crowned by his personal metaphorical formula in which

the appearance of the tenor simultaneously evokes the vehicle Linguistically speak-

ing the relation between tenor and vehicle remains visible and controllable

suicide Venus crying over Adonersquos body as Mary did over Jesusrsquo body Adone is not

wounded in his thigh as in Greek mythology but in his side See also Guardiani (2001)

and Gonnelli (2003 29ndash30 on pagan and Christian syncretism in Nonnusrsquo Paraphrasis

and Marinorsquos Adone) The last motif recurs in the fresco lsquoLa Morte di Adonersquo by Luca

Giordano (1682ndash85) Palazzo Medici-Riccardi Florence It is reminiscent of the parallel

between Dionysus and Christ also expressed in various mosaics for example in a Roman

mosaic depicting Dionysusrsquo discovery of Ariadne on Naxos (Syria 3rd-4th cent Miho

Museum Kyoto Japan cat NA) where Dionysus not only has a nimbus but also a

wound in his sidebreast (a later addition) (I thank Berenice Verhelst for pointing out

this mosaic to me)

32 For this intricate Renaissance style word play see Pozzi (1976) ad loc

33 See Nonn Dion 11 17ndash55 for the swimming contest with Dionysus and Ampelus and

the effect on the satyr boy of the golden water of the river Pactolus

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(lsquorationalrsquo lsquoclosedrsquo) Marino on the other hand prefers metaphors in absentia

opening the associative distance between vehicle and tenor to a maximum He uses

the auto-referential metaphor that is so typical of Baroque poetry Marinorsquos method

reflects instability the arbitrariness of the relation between tenor and vehicle seems to

express the absence of a shared and well-organized world with absolute values As

Conte (1972 37) puts it lsquoconfronted by a reality (human social politic cultural) in

crisis the baroque word denounces the prerogative of the word it speaks almost

exclusively of itself but speaking of itself it imitates takes possession of exorcizes

and even organizes the crisisrsquo Therefore on a linguistic level there seems to be more

method in Nonnusrsquo madness than in Marinorsquos

Finally what about the overall effect of the metaphors they use in their respective

descriptions Nonnus and Marino both describe beautiful beardless satyr boys

caught in a fleeting moment of radiant movement in an eroticizing bucolic setting

They put equal emphasis on the beauty and the fragility of youth and on the satyr

boyrsquos impact on the nature surrounding him As we have seen Nonnusrsquo metaphors

make Ampelus progressively intermingle with nature announcing the satyr boyrsquos

metamorphosis Even though they are classified as more lsquorationalrsquo on a linguistic

level (see Pasini) their effect is impressively irrational and open Just as Marinorsquos

metaphors they are constantly related to metamorphosis expressing change and

instability These are typical features of the Baroque that also explain at least partly

Marinorsquos affiliation with Nonnus

Conclusion

To return to the initial question of this article do we need the term lsquobaroquersquo to

characterize Nonnusrsquo poetry We have seen that the use of lsquobaroquersquo for other

periods than the seventeenth-century Baroque has met with positive and negative

reactions being found either too restricted or too broad and that the term lsquobaroquersquo

is often used for Nonnusrsquo Dionysiaca in an impressionistic way to indicate that his

aesthetics deviate from the lsquoclassicalrsquo Used in this sense lsquobaroquersquo can suggest

openness expansion abundance accumulation asymmetry moving musicality

optical illusion and the absence of a vanishing point as opposed to lsquoclassicalrsquo

with its connotation of contours closed nature unity harmony symmetry archi-

tectural fixity and converging perspectives Many of these tendencies known from

the historical Baroque are visible in Late Antique poetry

What about the other qualifications at hand such as poik0lordquo lsquojeweledrsquo and

lsquocumulativersquo Can they replace the term lsquobaroquersquo The first poikil0a is intimately

linked with Nonnusrsquo own poetics as becomes immediately clear from his prologue

where it refers to variety and polymorphism in the poem as a whole The poet wishes

that lsquoProteus of the many turnsrsquo the god of endless transformation lsquomay appear in

all his diversity of shapes since I twang my harp to a diversity of songsrsquo34 It is

34 Nonn Dion I 15 5rsquora rsquoan0h poik0lon Idordquo ecwn 7ti poik0lon 4mnon 2r0ssw (transl

Rouse 1940) The term poik0lordquo has been used very frequently by scholars to describe

T H E G O L D E N F L O W E R O F Y O U T H

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nloaded from

applied to Late Antique literature as well as to art works both art forms being

intimately linked during this period Gianfranco Agosti (1997 34ndash35 see also

2006 361ss) expands its use understanding it lsquonot only as stylistic varietas but

above all as a code intended to characterize reality The concept of poikil0a goes

far beyond mere rhetorical or stylistic boundaries and becomes a peculiar way of

viewing realityrsquo When used in this way as a psychological category applied to the

relation between word and image it becomes a hermeneutic tool to explore Late

Antique world views

The second expression lsquojeweled stylersquo is used for Late Antique writers and

artists who place their words and phrases or their gems and colours in geometric

patterns The aim of these patterns is to create a symbolic unity which is considered

more important than linear narrative sequences in literature and realism in the visual

arts The term has been coined by Michael Roberts (1989) for the aesthetics of Latin

poetry from Late Antiquity (Ausonius Prudentius Claudian Sidonius etc) but

can be applied mutatis mutandis to Greek literature from the same period

The third expression lsquocumulative aestheticrsquo describes a similar attitude in Late

Antique art characterized by a particular attention to detail (lsquoexquisite miniatur-

izationrsquo) and by a preference for the re-use of precious elements from the past

(spolia) The sum of these separate entities forms a new unity and expresses a

new vision of the world Jas Elsner (2004) discusses the term in the context of the

visual arts but it can also be applied to literature

Poikil0a jeweled style and cumulative aesthetic are free of the charge of

anachronism They are related each of them covering several aspects of Late

Antique art and literature but not all In my opinion the term lsquobaroquersquo serves a

different purpose it can indicate generally the kind of expressive possibilities chosen

by an author provided that this sketchy characterization is subsequently elaborated

in order to lend the term lsquobaroquersquo a more specific significance especially by

comparing it to the lsquoBaroquersquo

The term lsquobaroquersquo as a general indication for Nonnusrsquo style invited me to com-

pare lsquobaroquersquo Nonnus with lsquoBaroque Marinorsquo I picked up the Tesaurorsquos telescope

to zoom in on metaphor and to study the lsquoqueen of figuresrsquo from close up Nonnusrsquo

metaphors clearly appealed to the poetic creativity of Marino There is much aes-

thetic affinity between the stylistic norms they adopted when composing metaphors

They use comparable expressive possibilities to articulate their vision of the world

even if these worlds are very different and even if the lsquomost Baroque of baroque

poetsrsquo goes one step further than Nonnus Zooming out again I conclude two things

Nonnusrsquo style on the basis of his own proemium See for example Lindsay (1965 379ndash

84) String (1966 33ndash70) Vian (1976 9ndash10) Gonzalez Senmartı (1981) Hopkinson

(1994) Whitby (1994 101 112 116) Agosti (1997) Shorrock (2001) Miguelez-

Cavero (2008 139ndash45 162ndash68) Hernandez de la Fuente (2011) As a poetical qualifica-

tion poikil0a is already present in Pindar see Nunlist (1998 118) For poikil0avarietas

in epideictic rhetoric of the Imperial Period see Pernot (1993 337)

E M V A N O P S T A L L

22 of 25

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ber 13 2013httpcrjoxfordjournalsorg

Dow

nloaded from

if not pinned down as a strictly historical category the term lsquobaroquersquo can to a

certain extent be applied to Nonnus and above all can invite further exploration of

the intertextual relationships between poets and be helpful in comparing artistic

norms from different periods of time Used in this way it does not replace nor is

replaced by the terms poikil0a lsquojeweled stylersquo and cumulative aesthetics but is a

stimulating tool to bring to light similarities and differences in poetic creativity not

only of metaphor but also of other characteristics which have been called lsquotypically

baroquersquo35 It can help to gain insight into the exact nature of a literary lsquodialogue at

distancersquo and could also prove fruitful in analysing and characterizing Marinorsquos

intertexutal relations with other authors from Antiquity

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank G Agosti M H Koenen P Lanfranchi and M Pearson for

their stimulating comments and lively discussions during the various stages of this

article as well as Jas Elsner the associate editor and the anonymous referees of

Classical Receptions Journal for their accurate and useful suggestions

References

G Agosti lsquoPoemi digressivi tardoantichi (e moderni)rsquo Compar(a)ison no 1 (1995) pp 131ndash51mdashmdash lsquoThe poikil0a of Paul the Bishoprsquo ZPE no 116 (1997) pp 31ndash38mdashmdash lsquoImmagini e poesia nella tarda antichita Per uno studio dellrsquoestetica visuale della poesia greca fra

III e IV sec d Crsquo Incontri Triestini di Filologia Classica 4 2004-2005 (2006) pp 351ndash74 Onlinesince 22 August 2006 httphdlhandlenet10077949 [accessed 4 July 2012]

S Bar Review of Miguelez-Cavero 2008 in Plekos no 12 (2010) pp 67ndash77 httpwwwplekosuni-muenchende2010r-caveropdf [accessed 4 July 2012]

E van Boven and G Dorleijn Literair Mechaniek Inleiding tot de Analyse van Verhalen en Gedichten(Bussum Coutinho 2003) esp pp 159ndash80 (lsquoBeeldspraakrsquo)

Ch Brooke-Rose A Grammar of Metaphor (London Secker amp Warburg 1958)P Cherchi lsquoPoetry Philosophy and Sciencersquo in P Brand and L Pertile (eds) The Cambridge History

of Italian Literature vol I The Seicento (Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1996)pp 301ndash17

G Chretien Nonnos de Panopolis Les Dionysiaques t IV chants IXndashX (Paris Les Belles Lettres1985)

G Conte La Metafora barocca Saggio sulle poetiche del Seicento (Milano Mursia 1972)E R Curtius Europaische Literatur und lateinisches Mittelalter (Bern Francke Verlag 1948)G DrsquoIppolito Studi Nonniani Lrsquoepillio nelle Dionisiache (Palermo Presso lrsquoAccademia 1964)E DrsquoOrs Du Baroque (Paris Gallimard 1935)

35 Other intertexual relations such as the ones briefly discussed by Tissoni (1998 59ndash62)

could be analysed according to the procedure of Rousset (1954) although he restricted

his method to the seventeenth-century French Baroque literature He formulated four

main criteria applicable to various seventeenth-century Baroque art forms (architecture

painting and literature) lsquoinstabilityrsquo lsquomobilityrsquo lsquometamorphosisrsquo and lsquodominance of

settingrsquo He subsequently applied these criteria to five literary instances first of all lsquoa type

of metaphorrsquo followed by lsquoa type of poemrsquo lsquoa poetic work as a wholersquo lsquoa theatrical work as

a wholersquo and lsquoa general attitudersquo ie lsquodisplayrsquo (1954 181ss)

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ber 13 2013httpcrjoxfordjournalsorg

Dow

nloaded from

J Elsner lsquoLate Antique Art The Problem of the Concept and the Cumulative Aestheticrsquo in S Swainand M Edwards (eds) Approaching Late Antiquity The Transformation from Early to Late Empire(Oxford Oxford University Press 2004) pp 271ndash309

E Faral Les Arts Poetiques du XIIe et XIIIe siecle Recherches et Documents sur la Technique Litteraire duMoyen Age (Paris Champion 1962)

W Fauth Eidos Poikilon Zur Thematik der Metamorphose und zum Prinzip der Wandlung aus demGegensatz in den Dionysiaka des Nonnos von Panopolis (Gottingen Vandenhoeck amp Ruprecht 1981)

P Friedlander Johannes von Gaza und Paulus Silentiarius Kunstbeschreibungen Justinianischer Zeit(Leipzig Teubner 1912)

H de la Fuente lsquoThe One and the Many and the Circular Movement Neo-Platonism and Poetics inNonnus of Panopolisrsquo in Id (ed) New Perspectives on Late Antiquity (Newcastle-upon-TyneCambridge Scholars 2011)

F Gonnelli Nonno di Panopoli Le Dionisiache vol II (canti XIIIndashXXIV) (Milano BibliotecaUniversale Rizzoli 2003)

V Giraudet lsquoLe rivage la presqursquoıle et le marais Espaces baroques chez Achille Tatius et Nonnos dePanopolisrsquo in R Poignault (ed) Presence du Roman grec et Latin (Clermont-Ferrand Centre deRecherches A Piganiol 2011) pp 147ndash66

Groupe m (J Dubois ea) Rhetorique generale (Paris du Seuil 1970)F Guardiani lsquoA Christological Metamorphosis in a Baroque Poemrsquo in J Goering ea (ed) Saints and

the Sacred Select Proceedings of the 3rd St Michaelrsquos College Annual Symposium (Feb 25-26 2000)(Ottawa Legas 2001) pp 185ndash95

A C Hagedorn (ed) Perspectives on the Song of Songs (Berlin De Gruyter 2005)F Hallyn Formes metaphoriques dans la poesie lyrique de lrsquoage baroque en France (Geneve Droz 1975)H Hatzfeld lsquoThe Baroque from the Viewpoint of the Literary Historianrsquo Journal of Aesthetics and Art

Criticism 142 Second Special Issue on Baroque Style in Various Arts (1955) 156ndash64N Hopkinson (ed) Studies in the Dionysiaca of Nonnus (Cambridge Cambridge Philological Society

1994)R Huyghe lsquoLa seve du baroquersquo Baroque [online] no 4 (1969) Online since 3 May 2012 http

baroquerevuesorg304 [accessed 22 January 2013]K Jax Die weibliche Schonheit in der griechischen Dichtung (Innsbruck Wagner 1933)R Keydell lsquoNonnosrsquo in Th Klauser (ed) Reallexikon fur Antike und Christentum vol XVII

(Stuttgart Hiersemann 1936) vol XVII pp 902ndash20G Lakoff Metaphors We Live By (Chicago University of Chicago Press 1980)G Lakoff and M Turner More Than Cool Reason A Field Guide to Poetic Metaphor (Chicago

University of Chicago Press 1989)L R Lind lsquoNonnos and His Readersrsquo Res Publica Litterarum (1978) 159ndash70J Lindsay Leisure and Pleasure in Roman Egypt (London Muller 1965)V De Malde Giovan Battista Marino La Sampogna (Parma Fondazione Pietro Bembo Ugo Guanda

Editore 1993)A Martini Letteratura Italiana Le Opere Vol II Dal Cinquecento al Settecento A Asor Rosa (ed)

(Turin Einaudi 1993) pp 777ndash97R T Matthews and F DeWitt Platt The Western Humanities (Boston McGraw-Hill 2004)L Miguelez-Cavero Poems in Context Greek Poetry in the Egyptian Thebaid 200-600 AD (Berlin De

Gruyter 2008)R F Newbold lsquoMimesis and Illusion in Nonnus Deceit Distrust and the Search for Meaningrsquo

Helios 37 no 1 (2010) pp 81ndash106R Nunlist Poetologische Bildersprache in der fruhgriechischen Dichtung (Stuttgart Teubner 1998)G F Pasini lsquoDalla comparazione alla metaforarsquo Lingua e Stile 7 no 3 (1972) pp 441ndash69L Pernot La rhetorique de lrsquoeloge dans le monde greco-romain vol I (Paris Institut drsquoEtudes

Augustiennes 1993)S N Peters lsquoMetaphor and lsquolsquoMaravigliarsquorsquo Tradition and Innovation in the Adone of GB Marinorsquo

Lingua e Stile 7 no 2 (1972) pp 321ndash41D G Piccardi Metafora e Poetica in Nonno di Panopoli (Florence Universite degli Studi di Firenze

1985)mdashmdash Nonno di Panopoli Le Dionisiache vol I (canti IndashXII) (Milano Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli

2003)

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ber 13 2013httpcrjoxfordjournalsorg

Dow

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G Pozzi Giovan Battista Marino vol II LrsquoAdone (Milano Mondadori 1976)mdashmdash lsquoIl ritratto della donna nella poesia drsquoinizio Cinquecento e la pittura di Giorgionersquo Lettere Italiane

311 gennaio-marzo (1979) pp 3ndash30mdashmdash lsquoTemi t0poi stereotipirsquo in A Asor Rosa (ed) Letteratura italiana III Le forme del testo I

Teoria e poesia (Torino Einaudi 1984) pp 391ndash436I A Richards The Philosophy of Rhetoric (New York Oxford University Press 1936)M Riemschneider lsquoDer Stil des Nonnosrsquo Berliner byzantinistische Arbeiten no 5 (1957) pp 46ndash70M Roberts The Jeweled Style Poetry and Poetics in Late Antiquity (Ithaca and London Cornell

University Press 1989)W H D Rouse Nonnus Dionysiaca (Cambridge MA Harvard University Press 1940)J Rousset La litterature de lrsquoage baroque en France Circe et le paon (Paris Corti 1954)E Russo lsquoSul barocco letterario in Italia Giudizi revisioni distinzionirsquo Les Dossiers du Grihl [Online]

2012-02 j 2012 Online since 25 June 2012 httpdossiersgrihlrevuesorg5223 [accessed 4 March2013]

A G Senmartı lsquoLa lsquolsquopoikiliarsquorsquo como principio estilıstico de las Dionisıacas de Nonorsquo AFB no 7(1981) pp 101ndash07

R Shorrock The Challenge of Epic Allusive Engagement in the Dionysiaca of Nonnus (Leiden Brill2001)

mdashmdash lsquoNonnusrsquo in J Foley (ed) A Companion to Ancient Epic (Oxford Wiley-Blackwell 2005)pp 374ndash85

mdashmdash The Myth of Paganism Nonnus Dionysus and the World of Late Antiquity (London BristolClassical Press 2011)

G Steen lsquoMetaphor and Stylersquo in P Stockwell and S Whiteley (eds) The Cambridge Handbook ofStylistics (Cambridge Cambridge University Press forthcoming 2014)

M String Untersuchungen zum Stil der Dionysiaka des Nonnos von Panopolis (Hamburg sn (disserta-tion) 1966)

E Tesauro Il Cannocchiale Aristotelico (Venice Baglioni 1654ndash70)F Tissoni Nonno di Panopoli I Canti di Penteo (Dionisiache 44ndash46) Commento (Florence La Nuova

Italia Editrice 1998)F Vian Nonnos de Panopolis Les Dionysiaques t I chants IndashII (Paris Les Belles Lettres 1976)R Wellek lsquoThe Concept of Baroque in Literary Scholarshiprsquo Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism

52 Special Issue on Baroque Style in Various Arts (1946) pp 77ndash109M Whitby lsquoFrom Moschus to Nonnus The Evolution of the Nonnian Stylersquo in N Hopkinson (ed)

Studies in the Dionysiaca of Nonnus (Cambridge Cambridge Philological Society 1994) pp 99ndash155A Wifstrand Von Kallimachos zu Nonnos Metrisch-stilistische Untersuchungen zur spateren griechischen

Epik und zu verwandten Gedichtgattungen (Lund Gleerup 1933)H Wolfflin Renaissance und Barock Eine Untersuchung uber Wesen und Entstehung des Barockstils in

Italien (Munich T Ackermann 1888)

T H E G O L D E N F L O W E R O F Y O U T H

25 of 25

by guest on Novem

ber 13 2013httpcrjoxfordjournalsorg

Dow

nloaded from