(2) He studied the language for three years at Oak Park/River Forest High School during that time, he might have become acquainted with Horace's name but probably did not study the poet in depth. The Sun Also Rises reflects a number of the themes characteristic of the Odes, and Jake Barnes in particular resembles Horace's persona, especially that of the later poems.Īlthough Hemingway certainly read Latin and was familiar with a number of Latin poets, the depth and breadth of his knowledge of Horace is unknown. Although it is highly unlikely that Hemingway conceived the novel as a work in the tradition of Horace specifically, its similarities to Horace's Odes provide an interesting subject for study. The Odes of Horace, for instance, bear a striking resemblance to Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. (1) Such similarities are not my primary concern here, but require mention because the subject matter of Ecclesiastes has often surfaced in other works of Western literature. Notwithstanding recent protests that Hemingway did not understand his own novel, a considerable amount of ink has been spilled on the resemblance between The Sun Also Rises and the book of Ecclesiastes. SINCE THE PUBLICATION OF The Sun Also Rises, critics have fluctuated in their willingness to believe Hemingway's statement that the novel is about the earth's "abiding forever" (SL 229). Further, all three texts demonstrate a conviction that life is passing and that it is important to "seize the day." Both Horace and Hemingway, for example, employ a sexually impaired narrator and praise rural over urban living-Ecclesiastes claims neither of these features. The inclusion of Horace's Odes among Hemingway's influences explains a number of phenomena not found in the novel's explicit source-Ecclesiastes. This essay argues that Hemingway read Horace's Odes and incorporated that reading into The Sun Also Rises.
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