Texts come in parts; they come apart. In reading, readers somehow make sense of the parts and of the whole. This book seeks to examine the various ways in which ancient authors and modern readers negotiate the interrelations of whole and part, and construct and respond to perceived designs in the world of text. The c0ontributors develop the well-established reading strategies of intertextuality, narratology, and various forms of reader-response criticism, while
appreciating and questioning the aesthetic quality of the text. The texts studied in individual chapters vary widely in genre and historical period, with Plato and Cicero taking their places alongside
Homer and Catullus. Approaches range from the formally narratological to the philosophical and the politically engaged. They are all driven by the desire to look closely at the texts, often directing the reader's eye from a slightly unusual viewpoint.