Light, luxury and poetry in the Silvae by Statius

We'll examine the many light-images within Statius' Silvae (with particular attention to 1.2) which take on a not only denotative but also connotative value. They move from the description of luxurious residences, gleaming with precious materials, to the characterization of their owners whose interior splendour imparts luster to a patent but not ostentatious luxury, deprived in this way of any trace of vulgarity. This light reverberates also onto the poet who at the same time gives and receives shine as he sings so much splendour.