Explaining Natural Science in Hexameters. Scientific Didactic Epic in the Early Modern Era

Abstract

Didactic epic is one of the most intensely studied genres of Neo-Latin poetry. However, the numerous didactic poems that consider scientific topics as diverse as polar lights and balneology have to date received little attention. Insofar as these poems are considered at all, they are primarily understood as exercises in literary imitatio and demonstrations of poetic virtuosity, largely disregarding their professed objectives of explaining science to their readers. Focusing on a case study of the Iris (1730) by the Jesuit poet Carlo Noceti, the present article suggests that the formal aspects of these texts should not be evaluated in isolation from their contents. Rather, it seems preferable to treat them as serious attempts to familiarise readers with new notions, facts and insights in the age of the Scientific Revolution. The article is complemented by an Appendix listing all pertinent poems known to the author.