Parallel Lives
- proper noun
- Literature
:
Vidas paralelas
- In Parallel Lives, Plutarch compares the lives of famous figures.
Examples
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Many of Shakespeare's Roman plays drew inspiration from Parallel Lives by Plutarch.
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Historians still consult Parallel Lives for insights into classical figures.
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My professor recommended reading Parallel Lives to better understand ancient leadership.
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Did you read Parallel Lives for your history class?
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Many of Shakespeare's Roman plays drew inspiration from Parallel Lives by Plutarch.
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Historians still consult Parallel Lives for insights into classical figures.
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My professor recommended reading Parallel Lives to better understand ancient leadership.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally combines 'parallel' (analogous/similar) with 'lives', so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer a meaning like 'lives that are comparable or similar'. However, as a proper title it specifically denotes Plutarch's paired biographies, a culturally specific referent that is not fully predictable from the words alone, so the transparency is partial.
Etymology
Parallel Lives is the title Plutarch gave to his paired biographies, where he put a Greek and a Roman life next to each other. By using parallel, meaning side by side, and lives, meaning biographies, he wanted readers 'to compare' the people, so the name still explains why the work helps historians and writers today.
