Generic refashioning and poetic self-presentation in Horace's Satires and Epodes

Wolstencroft, Sarah May (2017) Generic refashioning and poetic self-presentation in Horace's Satires and Epodes. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This thesis will examine Horace’s two books of Satires and his collection of Epodes and will look at three main aspects of the collections: how the three volumes are connected through a shared dialogue with each other, the issue of genre and the task of literary self- fashioning against a problematic political landscape. In particular, I will look at the influence of Lucilius on Horace and show how Horace’s reworking of Lucilian satire plays a vital role in his presentation of himself and his development as a poet. I will examine the Lucilian allusions and intertextuality found within Horace’s work and will show how Horace’s treatment of iambic poetry is connected to his refashioning of Lucilian satire.
Horace’s first book of Satires, where the poet announces himself with his updated version of Lucilius’ genre, works as a vital reference point for the following two collections. I will show how the three volumes are linked through repeated references to and echoes of each other as Horace employs his previous work for different effects throughout the collections. I will examine how Horace continually uses what has gone before – either his own work or that of his generic predecessor Lucilius – to progress and establish himself as a poet.
I will also consider the political context of Horace’s early work and the effect of this on Horace’s establishment as a poet and his handling of different genres. I will show how Horace adopts and adapts satire and iambic poetry to create literary works appropriate for both the poetic and political tastes of his time.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Horace, Lucilius, Roman satire.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > PA Classical philology
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Classics
• Supervisor's Name: Panayotakis, Professor Costas
• Date of Award: 2017
• Depositing User: Ms Sarah Wolstencroft
• Unique ID: glathesis:2017-7948
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 03 Apr 2017 15:33
• Last Modified: 15 May 2017 08:23
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/7948