The thirty-nine poems, of varying length, are interspersed throughout the Books, and are hymns of praise and musings on philosophy. The book is prosimetrical, meaning that it is written in both verse and prose. Lady Philosophy appears to Boethius in prison, and shows him the way to true comfort in philosophical inquiry. The work is comprised of five Books, the majority of which consists of a dialogue between Boethius and the earthly incarnation of Philosophy. Boethius wrote the Consolation of Philosophy while in prison awaiting his execution, and, while it is controlled in style and emotion, the personal nature of the philosophical quest is evident. A work considered a combination of Menippean satire and apocalyptic dialogue, the Consolation of Philosophy is a philosophical work similar in structure to a classical Greek dialogue (such as the Dialogues of Plato) but with a more personal, religious, and mystical significance.
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