Fremde Rede - Eigene Rede

Figural speech, reported speech, and quotation are literary devices that operate through actual or pretended references to the statements of others. Their use differentiates two speech situations in the text and shifts the responsibility for what is said from the current speaker to the foreign speaker. The latter's speech, through its repetition in a new context, is simultaneously never completely separable from the current text's own speech. The contributions collected in this volume address the implications of the resulting ambivalence and the literary creative possibilities it opens up in ancient prose. The focus is on quotations and aspects of their description, such as source reference, accuracy of representation, and marking strategies.