This article reconsiders a number of the metapoetic oppositions which Harder has identified between Callimachus and Apollonius (in the lead article of this volume of Aevum Antiquum, ‘Aspects of the Interaction between Apollonius Rhodius and Callimachus’) and subjects them to closer scrutiny. First, I explore two metapoetic motifs (talking birds and programmatic paths), before turning to examine issues of narrative (dis)continuity. In particular, I focus on moments where clear-cut distinctions between the two poets appear to break down.