Een spannende strijd valt in het water Hannibal ad portas in Livius en Silius Italicus

This article analyses Hannibal’s march on Rome in Livy’s Ab urbe condita and Silius Italicus’ Punica. Comparisons between these works typically focus on content rather than style, partly because they belong to different genres – historiography and epic. By analysing their narrative structures, we demonstrate that a stylistic comparison is not only possible but also yields valuable insights into these texts. Using the model of prototypical narrative structures, we systematically analyse the tension curves in the Hannibal ad portas episode in Livy and Silius Italicus, mapping the differences. This study of narrative composition and tension building techniques offers new insights into both authors’ narrative techniques and stylistic choices. Even though the underlying facts of the Hannibal ad portas episode are the same, both authors have created their own version in which the narrative’s tension rises differently.