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{{short description|Avant-garde Ancient Greek and Latin poets}}
The '''Neoterikoi''' ([[Ancient Greek]]: ''{{lang|grc|νεωτερικοί}}''; [[Latin]]: ''{{lang|la|poetae novi}}'', "new poets"), also known as the '''Neoterics''' or, according to Cicero, ''cantores Euphorionis'' ("singers of [[Euphorion of Chalcis|Euphorion]]"), were a series of [[avant-garde]] [[Latin]] poets who wrote in the 1st century BCE. Neoteric poets deliberately turned away from classical [[Homer]]ic [[epic poetry]]. Rather than focusing on the feats of ancient heroes and gods, they propagated a new style of poetry through stories that operated on a smaller scale in regard to themes and setting. 

Although the poems of the Neoterics may seem to address superficial subjects, many scholars view their work as subtle and accomplished works of art.<ref>{{cite book|title=Catullus |editor=Ian Morgan |author=Charles Martin |date=1992 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=9780300052008}}</ref> Neoteric poetry has frequently been compared to the [[Modernism|Modernist movement]] of the late 19th through the 20th century, as well as the [[Imagism|Imagist movement]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Catullus—The Complete Poetry |author=Frank O. Copley |date=1957 |publisher=The University of Michigan Press |isbn=9780472060856}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Catullus and the Poetics of Roman Manhood |author=David Wray |date=2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521030694}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Poems of Catullus: A Bilingual Edition |translator=Peter Green |date=2005 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520242647}}</ref>

==Neoterics==
Influenced by the Greek Hellenistic poets, the Neoterics rejected traditional social and literary norms. Their poetry is characterized by tight construction, a playful use of [[genre]], [[pun]]ning, and complex [[allusion]]s. The most significant surviving Neoteric works are those of [[Catullus]]. His poetry exemplifies the elegant vocabulary, meter, and sound{{Snd}}all of which the Neoterics sought{{Snd}}while balancing those elements with the equally important allusive characteristic of the Neoteric style.

Latin poets normally classified as Neoterics are Catullus and his fellow poets, such as [[Helvius Cinna]], [[Publius Valerius Cato]], [[Marcus Furius Bibaculus]], [[Quintus Cornificius]], among others. Some Neoteric stylistic features can also be seen in the works of [[Vergil]], who was a generation younger than the ''{{lang|la|poetae novi}}''. The Neoterics were occasionally the subject of scorn from older and more traditionally minded Romans, such as [[Cicero]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Oxford Latin Reader |author1=Maurice Balme |author2=James Morwood |date=1997 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0199122334}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Prosody (Latin)]]

==References==
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{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{ref begin}}<!--biblio from {{doi|10.1093/OBO/9780195389661-0054}}-->
* {{cite book|last=Castorina |first=Emanuele |date=1968 |title=Questioni neoteriche |series=Biblioteca di cultura |volume=79 |location=Florence |publisher=La Nuova Italia |ref=none |language=it}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Clausen |first1=Wendell |title=Callimachus and Latin Poetry |journal=Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies |date=1964 |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=181–196 |url=https://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/view/11871 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last1=Granarolo |first1=Jean |title=Von den Anfängen Roms bis zum Ausgang der Republik: Sprache und Literatur (1. Jahrhundert v. Chr.) |series=Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt |volume=I.3 |date=1973 |editor-last=Temporini |editor-first=Hildegard |publisher=De Gruyter |location=Berlin |isbn=3-11-004251-7 |pages=278–360 |chapter=L'époque néotérique ou la poésie romaine d'avant-garde au dernier siècle de la République (Catulle excepté)|doi=10.1515/9783110836424-009 |ref=none |language=fr}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Lyne |first1=R. O. A. M. |title=The Neoteric Poets |journal=The Classical Quarterly |date=1978 |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=167–187 |doi=10.1017/S0009838800037848 |s2cid=<!--no-->|ref=none}}
{{ref end}}

{{Avant-garde}}

[[Category:Latin poetry]]
[[Category:Hellenistic civilization]]
[[Category:Poetry movements]]


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