Wolstencroft, Sarah May (2017) Generic refashioning and poetic self- presentation in Horace's Satires and Epodes. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/79481/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Generic Refashioning and Poetic Self-Presentation in Horace’s Satires and Epodes Sarah May Wolstencroft MA (Hons) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of PhD School of Humanities College of Arts University of Glasgow December 2016 © Sarah Wolstencroft 2016 1 2 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. 3 4 Table of Contents Preface and Acknowledgements...............................................................................7 Author’s Declaration.................................................................................................9 Introduction..............................................................................................................11 Chapter 1: Lucilius and the legacy of libertas: Horace’s first book of Satires 1.1 Introduction..............................................................................................35 1.2 Satire 1.1..................................................................................................40 1.3 Satire 1.2..................................................................................................47 1.4 Satire 1.3..................................................................................................55 1.5 Satire 1.4..................................................................................................57 1.6 Satire 1.5..................................................................................................62 1.7 Satire 1.6..................................................................................................72 1.8 Satire 1.7..................................................................................................84 1.9 Satire 1.8..................................................................................................90 1.10 Satire 1.9................................................................................................93 1.11 Satire. 1.10.............................................................................................99 Chapter 2: Anger and ambiguity: Horace’s Epodes and Satires 2.1 Introduction............................................................................................111 2.2 Horace’s self-presentation......................................................................117 2.3 Horace’s relationship with Maecenas.....................................................128 2.4 Anger and aggression..............................................................................139 Chapter 3: Satire’s new standard: Lucilius and Horace’s second book of Satires 3.1 Introduction............................................................................................151 3.2 Satire 2.1................................................................................................156 3.3 Satire 2.2................................................................................................163 3.4 Satire 2.3................................................................................................173 3.5 Satire 2.4................................................................................................185 3.6 Satire 2.5................................................................................................196 3.7 Satire 2.6................................................................................................202 3.8 Satire 2.7................................................................................................206 3.9 Satire 2.8................................................................................................210 Conclusion .............................................................................................................223 Bibliography...........................................................................................................229 5 6 Preface & Acknowledgements If Roman satire can teach the modern reader one lesson it is that some things have changed very little since Horace’s day. Centuries roll past, but the same concerns about money, sex and power – and why other people have more of them – survive through more than two thousand years. The familiar themes and recognisable attitudes found in Horace’s Satires enable today’s reader to feel a link to the past through the things we have in common with either the poet or, sometimes (even if we don’t always like to admit it), his targets. Satire’s subject matter is rooted in the everyday and instead of a backdrop of the legendary past, it often centres around situations to which we can still relate. Here, heroes are for sending up in epic parodies and the only battles are scrappy tussles fought with insulting words as weapons or waged by a man against his stomach complaints. Grand passions are put aside in favour of convenient couplings with whoever is at hand. Even important state missions are presented with a focus on singing drunks, soiled sheets and kitchen fires rather than any vital diplomatic affairs. But it is precisely these sides of satire that I believe make the genre so continually fascinating and relevant. Grand literature such as epic puts a distance between its subject matter and its readers as it holds up its noble examples. But for satire to work, it needs to get close to its readers. It holds out a grubby hand and takes them on a trawl of the city, giving a guided tour of sin and sleaze with a knowing wink. This intimacy survives across the millennia and through satire the modern reader can still feel a warts- and-all closeness to the original audience, getting a glimpse of what would have raised a smile or an eyebrow or a temper. Satire allows you to take a step near enough to smell the ancient world it reveals and realise it often contains a familiar whiff of the present. The lasting relevance of satire and its parallels with contemporary culture are a large part of my personal interest in the topic. After almost 20 years working for a national tabloid newspaper, I am continually struck by the similarities between Horace’s satire and my own ‘genre’. Both share a style of language that might at first appear to be casually thrown- together conversation, but is actually carefully constructed colloquialism fitted in to a particular rhythm. Horatian brevity and satire’s playful use of puns and alliteration also find their echoes in tabloid tales. These are texts with a close relationship with their readers, which must show something that their audience can identify with or react to for them to be effective. Satirists and sub-editors need to know who their words are for. The similarities are not confined to style but extend to subject matter as well. The focus is usually on people and the present day. Both turn their gaze on the famous and the 7 infamous, picking out politicians and the powerful, and delving gleefully into salaciousness and scandal. And as a result, the tabloid newspaper and the satirist often face accusations of either pushing boundaries too far or sometimes not going far enough, something Horace admits at the start of his second book. Pleasing everyone would be as impossible as winning praise from both a Guardian reader and a devotee of the Daily Mail. It is this lasting relevance of satire,