Interesting to consider Petrarch from the point of view of variety. His Rime are famous for internal contrasts but the poems seem 'samey' when compared to Shakespeare's Sonnets. His letters feel like exercises when compared to Cicero's or Pliny Jr or Seneca Jr. From this distance it appears that he is developing tools but doesn't have any 'killer' applications (the Africa poem for instance).
With Bach there is a range from clear 'exercises' to 'killer applications,' even within one 'grouping.' SInce the whole set of issues around performance, publication etc...make it hard to compare Bach's 'books' to anything we know, talking about structure in a single grouping can be hard. Goldberg's are the outstanding exception.
The Ancient 'Middle East' is getting a long awaited makeover ('Late Antiquity' has already received this treatment)...I hope it disappears into Ancient Eurasia very soon.
Interesting to consider Petrarch from the point of view of variety. His Rime are famous for internal contrasts but the poems seem 'samey' when compared to Shakespeare's Sonnets. His letters feel like exercises when compared to Cicero's or Pliny Jr or Seneca Jr. From this distance it appears that he is developing tools but doesn't have any 'killer' applications (the Africa poem for instance).
With Bach there is a range from clear 'exercises' to 'killer applications,' even within one 'grouping.' SInce the whole set of issues around performance, publication etc...make it hard to compare Bach's 'books' to anything we know, talking about structure in a single grouping can be hard. Goldberg's are the outstanding exception.
The Ancient 'Middle East' is getting a long awaited makeover ('Late Antiquity' has already received this treatment)...I hope it disappears into Ancient Eurasia very soon.