Vulnerable Body 5: Horace's Penetrating Epodes
Vulnerable Body 5
Discordia
and
powerlessness: Horace’s
penetrating
Epodes
(II)
The
Epodes
:
Themes so
far
•
Horace not an objective, distanced
commentator on current events, but a
compromised, traumatised participant.
•
The poet veers between male self-
mastery/effeminate subjection.
•
Abuse poetry seems to both respond to that
‘victim status’ and perpetuate it, while of
course trying to make victims of others
•
Horace makes the genre/form of iambic poetry
inseparable from his own precarity as son of
a freedman who was on the losing side in the
civil wars.
•
BODILY vulnerability is an ongoing theme:
bodily weakness translates into and comes to
stand for all kinds of other vulnerabilities.
Canidia:
witches and
hags
•
Etymologies/connected words:
canities
(white or grey hair, old age),
canere
(to sing),
caninus
(dog-like,
snarling, biting),
canis
(dog).
•
Epodes
5, 17; Satires 1.8 (plus
Epodes
3, 6, 8, 12,
Sat
.2.1, 2.8).
Notice Canidia’s role at the end of
the both the
Epodes
and the
Satires.
•
Compare the biting, vengeful iambic
poet at
Epodes
6 (
atro dente
,
6.15;
dens ater,
8.3)
Villa del Cicerone,
Pompeii
Epode
8
•
How do lines 2-14 of
Epode
8
shape and constitute the old
woman’s body?
•
In the battle for
rhetorical/oral supremacy, who
wins?
Epode
12
1.
Compare and contrast
Epode
12 with
Epode
8.
2.
Watson p386:
‘It is evident that the
primary function of such beast-
analogies, when applied to sexually
active women, is not, as Richlin has
claimed, to dehumanize their subject,
but rather to intimate that female lust
is animal-like in character: that is to
say, dangerous, intemperate and
insensate…’ Do you agree?
3.
What is the effect of the poet-lover
being compared to an animal (lamb,
deer) in the final lines of
Epode
12?
Exploring themes of vulnerability, powerlessness, and the intertwining of personal trauma with poetic expression in Horace's Epodes. The poet's compromised position as a son of a freedman influences his work, reflecting on bodily weakness and societal precarity. Analysis includes the role of witches, hags, and the portrayal of female desire as animalistic in nature.
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Presentation Transcript
Vulnerable Body 5 Discordia and powerlessness: Horace s penetrating Epodes (II)
The Epodes: Themes so far Horace not an objective, distanced commentator on current events, but a compromised, traumatised participant. The poet veers between male self- mastery/effeminate subjection. Abuse poetry seems to both respond to that victim status and perpetuate it, while of course trying to make victims of others Horace makes the genre/form of iambic poetry inseparable from his own precarity as son of a freedman who was on the losing side in the civil wars. BODILY vulnerability is an ongoing theme: bodily weakness translates into and comes to stand for all kinds of other vulnerabilities.
Canidia: witches and hags Etymologies/connected words: canities (white or grey hair, old age), canere (to sing), caninus (dog-like, snarling, biting), canis (dog). Epodes 5, 17; Satires 1.8 (plus Epodes 3, 6, 8, 12, Sat.2.1, 2.8). Notice Canidia s role at the end of the both the Epodes and the Satires. Compare the biting, vengeful iambic poet at Epodes 6 (atro dente, 6.15; dens ater, 8.3)
Villa del Cicerone, Pompeii
Epode 8 How do lines 2-14 of Epode 8 shape and constitute the old woman s body? In the battle for rhetorical/oral supremacy, who wins?
Epode 12 1. Compare and contrast Epode 12 with Epode 8. 2. Watson p386: It is evident that the primary function of such beast- analogies, when applied to sexually active women, is not, as Richlin has claimed, to dehumanize their subject, but rather to intimate that female lust is animal-like in character: that is to say, dangerous, intemperate and insensate Do you agree? 3. What is the effect of the poet-lover being compared to an animal (lamb, deer) in the final lines of Epode 12?
