Einführungsmittel der Direkten Rede in der (Nach)augusteischen Dichtung

Abstract

The direct speech in Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Lucan’s Civil War is represented by means of verbs, nominal-verbal phrases with the implicit “speech” seme expressed by the noun or through the context as well as by elliptical constructions. The dominant means with which direct speech is introduced in the Metamorphoses and Civil War are verbs in personal and impersonal forms, which expose their division into hyperonyms (dico, inquam, aio, fari) and hyponyms (respondeo, clamo, voco, loquor etc.). Hyperonyms, with dico and aio being dominant and inquam peripheral, serve to introduce the direct speech. The analysis reveals that the frequency of occurrence of different introductory means varies depending on the text. The texts under study display differences in the position of direct speech markers which are conditioned by their nature: verbs (especially hyperonyms dico, aio, inquam) are mainly used in intrapositions, while other means demonstrate a noticeable tendency to be placed before the direct speech. The article also provides a comparative study of the means used to introduce the direct speech in the works of the two poets chosen for the analysis.