About the Book:This book seeks to examine the various ways in which ancient authors and modern readers negotiate the interrelations of whole and part, and construct and respond to perceived designs in the world of text. The contributors develop the well-established reading strategies of intertextuality, narratology, and various forms of reader-response criticism, while appreciating and questioning the aesthetic quality of the texts, which range from those of Homer and Plato to Catullus and Cicero.