Proserpine upon the Coin: Melville’s Quest for Greek Beauty in “Syra” by Bruno Monfort

“…Melville’s poem resists the still persistent hellenomania of the period: old stones and antique statues vanish from the poet’s field of vision as he comes to realize that the humble people he meets, traders, innkeepers or street-cleaners, have inherited the noble features transmitted through the ages from the days of Ancient Greece. …”
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