Neither older empiricist positions that genre is an abstract concept useless for the study of
individual works of literature nor the recent (post) modern reluctance to subject literary
production to any kind of classification seem to have stilled the discussion on the various
aspects of genre in classical literature. Having moved from more or less essentialist and or
prescriptive positions towards a more dynamic conception of the generic model research on
genre is currently considering pushing beyond the boundaries impurity instability enrichment
and genre-bending. The aim of this volume is to raise questions of such generic mobility in
Latin literature. The papers explore ways in which works assigned to a particular generic area
play host to formal and substantive elements associated with different or even opposing genres
assess literary works which seem to challenge perceived generic norms highlight along the
literary-historical the ideological and political backgrounds to dislocations of the generic
map.
