Meditations Analysis

Literary Devices in Meditations

Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

Setting

Since this is a work of philosophy, most of what is going on happens inside Marcus's head. We don't know very much about when or where these writings were composed, though Marcus does tell us somet...

Narrator Point of View

Marcus writes the Meditations as a personal journal in which he addresses himself. This self- address can take the form of exhortation, which is a kind of command generally in the second person. It...

Genre

Marcus's Meditations are not meant to be an original work of philosophy. What we actually get is Marcus himself working through philosophical principles as they pertain to the life of a philosopher...

Tone

We might imagine Marcus as the Grumpy Cat of emperors: he pulls no punches and gives no quarter. He's not interested in his own comfort—or anyone else's, for that matter. When he has advice to gi...

Writing Style

Marcus has no interest in being like his tutor, Fronto, who was a master rhetorician. Although Marcus is Emperor of Rome, he has a horror of becoming "Caesarified," which is the technical term for...

What's Up With the Title?

Marcus himself didn't give a title to his collected writings. For one thing, he never intended his works to be copied and circulated—it was more like a personal journal he kept over the years. In...

What's Up With the Ending?

Marcus ends the Meditations with an envoy—a kind of postscript that bids farewell and sends the reader/writer out into the world. Since Marcus never intended his reflections to see the light of d...

Tough-o-Meter

(8) Snow LineMarcus's writing style is straightforward and frank. He pulls no rhetorical punches with you. But hey, it's philosophy. He's going to talk about cause and substance. He's going to name...

Trivia

Despite what Marcus says about sex in his Meditations, he apparently partook of truffles (the fungi, not the chocolate) as an aphrodisiac. (Source)Former POTUS Bill Clinton once claimed that he rea...

Steaminess Rating

There is absolutely nothing sexual discussed by the emperor in his work. Well, except for this little gem:And in sexual intercourse that it is no more than the friction of a membrane and a spurt of...

Allusions

Literary and Philosophical ReferencesAesop, Fables, "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse" (11.22)Aristophanes, The Wasps reference to King Cecrops (4.23)Asclepius (5.8.1, 6.43)Epictetus, The Disco...