A recusatio is a

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings ...

(or part thereof) in which the

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...

says he is supposedly unable or disinclined to write the type of poem which he originally intended to, and instead writes in a different

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

. The recusatio is something of a ''topos'' in ancient and Renaissance literature. Its use has often been interpreted as a ''persona'' deliberately adopted by the poet, allowing him to assert himself in the guise of ironic

self-deprecation Self-deprecation is the act of reprimanding oneself by belittling, undervaluing, disparaging oneself, or being excessively modest. It can be used as a way to make complaints, express modesty, invoke optimal reactions or add humour. It may also be u ...

or feigned humility.

Ancient Greek origins

The topos of recusatio was introduced by

Callimachus Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide variet ...

in his '' Aetia'' fr. 1.21-4, and employed in his refusal to write a major epic, preferring slighter poetic forms.

Anacreon Anacreon (; grc-gre, Ἀνακρέων ὁ Τήϊος; BC) was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ...

’s work contains many similar examples.

Examples from Latin literature

In Augustan Rome, pressure to write an epic celebration of the emperor’s achievement was felt by almost all poets.

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

in his

Eclogue An eclogue is a poem in a classical style on a pastoral subject. Poems in the genre are sometimes also called bucolics. Overview The form of the word ''eclogue'' in contemporary English developed from Middle English , which came from Latin , wh ...

VI.3ff offered an exemplary recusatio, which at the same time held out the prospect of his ‘advancing’ to epic in the fullness of time. By contrast

Propertius Sextus Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age. He was born around 50–45 BC in Assisium and died shortly after 15 BC. Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of '' Elegies'' ('). He was a friend of the poets Gallu ...

(I. 7ff; II.34 lines 59-66; III.3 lines 39ff) and

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ...

(Ode I.6; Ode II.12) made more permanent objections; while

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the ...

(Amores I.1; II.18 ) also presented himself as an elegist unable to reach to the heights of traditional epic. In the Silver Age, recusatio was used by poets to write epics but to avoid the subject of emperors themselves by disclaiming their ability to write of imperial deeds. The third century AD saw recusatio employed again by

Nemesianus Marcus Aurelius Olympius Nemesianus was a Roman poet thought to have been a native of Carthage and flourished about AD 283. He was a popular poet at the court of the Roman emperor Carus ( Historia Augusta, ''Carus'', 11). Works The works be ...

in his Cynegetica (lines 15 - 47)

Early modern and modern

* Edmund Spenser followed Virgil in

The Shepheardes Calender ''The Shepheardes Calender'' was Edmund Spenser's first major poetic work, published in 1579. In emulation of Virgil's first work, the ''Eclogues'', Spenser wrote this series of pastorals at the commencement of his career. However, Spenser's ...

in his recusatio of epic for pastoral, which was at the same time a programmatic prophecy of epic to come. *

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

placed himself in the elegist tradition of recusation in his song

Blind Willie McTell Blind Willie McTell (born William Samuel McTier; May 5, 1898 – August 19, 1959) was a Piedmont blues and ragtime singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont ...

, with its refrain’s self-contradictory claim that “nobody can sing the blues like Blind Willie McTell”.Quoted in N. Corcoran ed., ''Do You, Mr Jones?'' (London 2002) p. 215

References

Poetic devices {{Poetry-stub

Ancient Greek origins

Examples from Latin literature

Early modern and modern

See also

References