ABSTRACT
If Vergil was as indebted to his models as he is generally, and no doubt rightly, assumed to have been, how do reminiscences of earlier poetry affect his message? How does the poet's voice relate to the whole concert of polyphonic voices intruding on the text, sometimes even seemingly undermining the surface meaning? In what ways and to what extent are we entitled to establish dissonant interpretations on the basis of comparative material that Vergil undoubtedly knew, and could have been influenced by, but which is running counter to what Vergil's text seems to express per se? There are recent interpretations that in my opinion go somewhat astray in this matter, as I will try to show in the example I adduce.2 However, my primary focus in the following pages is the wider issue of imitation and its limits in Vergil.
