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The Elegiac Grotesque

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The Elegiac Grotesque The Elegiac Grotesque by Mariapia Pietropaolo A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Classics University of Toronto © Copyright by Mariapia Pietropaolo 2013 The Elegiac Grotesque Mariapia Pietropaolo Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Classics University of Toronto 2013 Abstract In Roman elegy the poet-lover has recourse to images of ugliness and disfigurement when he discovers that he is unable to retain the favour of his beloved with his love and verses. He degrades his opponents and suggests that his beloved herself succumbs to the fascination of horrid lovers. In this thesis I explore the theme of elegiac degradation from the perspective of grotesque hermeneutics, with the aim of showing that the grotesque plays a significant role in the development and self-understanding of elegy, the genre in which it is least expected. After discussing relevant aspects of grotesque theory, I show that the historical premises for a grotesque reading of Roman love poetry are found in Lucretius’ diatribe against love, a powerful philosophical gesture against the sentimentalizations of love and a strong argument for a poetics of love grounded in grotesque materialism. I then turn to Catullus, focusing on his bold use of grotesque imagery. Catullus admits the grotesque ii into the domain of love poetry and shows that, beneath the surface of elegance and urbanity that typifies romantic love, there lurks a reality that is both defiled and defiling. Turning to elegy proper, I analyze Propertius’ use of the grotesque focusing on his creation of a grotesque ethos within the aesthetic space of elegy. In that ethos signifiers of beauty and romance reveal an underside that both degrades the ideals they represent and disturbs the interpretive focus of the reader conditioned by conventions. I then examine Tibullus’ approach to elegiac grotesque aesthetics, finding that he engages the reader in a self-allusive exercise that leads to the discovery of grotesque signs both concealed and illuminated by the poetic conventions of elegy. By means of this technique, Tibullus accomplishes his elegiacization of the grotesque. Finally, Ovid reveals that the presence of the grotesque in elegy, the sense of foreignness that accompanies it, and the impression that the logic of the genre is destabilized by it are all already inherent in the very premises of elegy and are generated by its very logic. iii Acknowledgements In writing this thesis I have received support and encouragement from several people, whom I am delighted to thank here. First and foremost I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Alison Keith, without whose unfailing guidance and generous support throughout my entire career as a student at the University of Toronto I would not have been in this field and come this far. She has always been there for me with clear and focused advice and kind words of encouragement. I am grateful to her for her mentorship and inspiration. My other committee members, Professors Erik Gunderson and Jill Ross, were both supportive and exceedingly helpful throughout the process. They continuously challenged me to do more than I thought I could do. I thank them for urging me to think boldly about my subject at every step of the way. I am also grateful to Professor Victoria Wohl for her insightful reading of my thesis, and to Professor Barbara Gold for serving as the external examiner and for all her generous advice. I must also thank my fellow members of the Lehrstuhl for their inspiring papers and insightful feedback on mine. And I express my gratitude to the many friends with whom I have shared life as a graduate student, commiserating and rejoicing with them on many an occasion. It is impossible to express all that I owe to my parents for their support, love and understanding throughout my thesis and throughout my life. Finally I thank Tim Perry, who truly understood what I was going through at every stage. His patience, love, and support, unwavering and profound, have been and continue to be a great source of strength for me. iv Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1 Aspects of the Grotesque in Lucretius’ Diatribe Against Love…................................. 20 Chapter 2 The Catullan Grotesque ................................................................................................. 60 Chapter 3 The Grotesque Rival, Lena and Puella in Propertian Elegy........................................... 95 Chapter 4 Tibullus’ Elegiac Grotesque.......................................................................................... 153 Chapter 5 The Ovidian Elegiac Grotesque..................................................................................... 192 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 247 Abbreviations................................................................................................................. 261 Bibliography ................................................................................................................. 262 v Introduction Roman elegy makes frequent use of themes of ugliness and disfigurement, and it juxtaposes these with images of ideal beauty and sentiment. In order to overcome the obstacles to his erotic relationship, the poet-lover repeatedly represents his rivals and opponents in such a way as to ridicule their appearance and to degrade their social standing. My purpose in this thesis is to explore the theme of corporeal, intellectual, and social degradation from the perspective of the aesthetics of the grotesque. I undertake to show that the grotesque plays a significant role in the self-definition of the genre in which it is least expected.1 Grotesque and idealizing imagery constitute the polarities of a dialectic that lies at the core of elegy. Classical scholars have long been interested in the use of grotesque imagery in such genres as comedy, invective, and satire.2 There is a sophisticated discussion of the grotesque in these areas of classical literature, which are concerned in part with themes of transgression and excess. Grotesque imagery occurs frequently also in genres, such as elegy, that foreground love and beauty, but no systematic treatment of the phenomenon in this genre has yet been attempted. With this thesis I hope to make a contribution to our understanding of elegy from the perspective of grotesque aesthetics, building on such works as the two special issues of Arethusa devoted respectively to the relevance of Bakhtin to classical studies (volume 26) and to the analysis of the theme of vile bodies in satire (volume 31), as well as on the scholarship of Braund, Gold, and Miller, among others. The corporeal discourse of elegy 1 See Richlin (1992, chapters 2 and 3), who suggests that, in opposition to satire, elegy maintains an idealizing attitude towards women and boys. 2 Cf. e.g. Braund and Gold (1998); Christenson (2001); Gunderson (2005). 1 2 has yet to be read from a grotesque perspective.3 Such a reading, however, is necessary because, as we shall see, it is not otherwise possible to understand fully the essence of elegy. For the grotesque is inherent in the very concept of elegiac love. In their introduction to the special issue of Arethusa on the corporeal discourse in Roman satire, Susanna Morton Braund and Barbara K. Gold express the hope that their collection of articles might offer “a provocation and inspiration for further work on this field.”4 This thesis is a response to their invitation from within the domain of elegiac scholarship. The field that the Arethusa special editors have in mind is perhaps satire, and their intent may be to provoke its further exploration in light of modern theories of vile literary bodies, especially the theory of the grotesque in conjunction with other theoretical methodologies relevant to particular themes and images. Satire is a genre in intimate terms with the grotesque, which provides it with an aesthetic instrument of denigration. Other genres, however, may be fruitfully brought into the horizon of grotesque studies. In this thesis, I will attempt to build on the foundation of the Arethusa scholars by applying a grotesque hermeneutic to amatory elegy and to the love poetry that immediately preceded it. Though elegy is a genre that, at first appearances, resists dialogue with the grotesque, appearances are deceiving: I will show that throughout the elegiac tradition, the grotesque emerges frequently from within the poetic substance of elegy, sometimes coming only partly into view but at other times claiming a central position on its stage. The Roman elegists have systematic recourse to the grotesque in the depiction of the poet-lover’s rival, of the lena, of the puella and of love itself. Their use of the concepts of degradation, bestial behaviour, and physical ugliness are all aspects of the 3 In contrast, much has been written on the puella’s and on the lover-poet’s body. Cf. e.g. Wyke (2002). See also Keith (1994) and (1999), Sharrock (1991). 4 Braund and Gold (1998). 3 aesthetic principles of the grotesque, though each author assumes a different stance and emphasizes different aspects of the grotesque. Common to all is a concept of the elegiac genre as incorporating grotesque elements in its aesthetic form and
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