James Enge
Bowling Green State University, Romance and Classical Studies, Faculty Member
- James Enge is the pseudoplume or nom de nym of James M. Pfundstein, PhD. JMP/"JE" is a Lecturer in Classics at the nascent World Languages and Cultures Department (formerly two different language-teaching units) at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He received his PhD in Classics in 2000 f... moreJames Enge is the pseudoplume or nom de nym of James M. Pfundstein, PhD.
JMP/"JE" is a Lecturer in Classics at the nascent World Languages and Cultures Department (formerly two different language-teaching units) at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He received his PhD in Classics in 2000 from the University of Minnesota. His dissertation was on astronomical imagery in the tragedies of Seneca, and he retains a lively interest in Seneca, in ancient science, and in Latin and Greek poetry generally. He has published short pieces on the texts of Vergil and Ovid, and longer work on astronomical imagery in Aeschylus and Seneca. But the lion's share of his writing in the past ten years has gone towards fiction published under the pen name of "James Enge". (That's why this profile was created under that name.)
You can reach him in his daylight persona at jmpfund@bgsu.edu, or as JE at jamesenge@gmail.com. Je also maintains a presence on Facebook (facebook.com/james.enge) and, to a lesser degree, on Twitter (twitter.com/jamesenge).edit
Astronomical imagery anchors crucial moments in Seneca's _Hercules Furens_ (e.g. Juno's soliloquy at the play's opening, the eponymous mad scene, etc). But hitherto these passage have been dismissed as rhetorical decoration rather than... more
Astronomical imagery anchors crucial moments in Seneca's _Hercules Furens_ (e.g. Juno's soliloquy at the play's opening, the eponymous mad scene, etc). But hitherto these passage have been dismissed as rhetorical decoration rather than explained. This paper traces the cosmographic image at the heart of Seneca's play, in which Hercules (the constellation and the hero), rises, falls, and will rise again.
Research Interests:
This paper argues that the phrase _Titania... astra_ (Vergil, _Aen_.6.725) refers to the Zodiac, as the stars through which the Sun (called Τίταν as early as Empedocles, and all through classical Latin poetry) takes its annual course.
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A proposals has been made to delete several lines of Ovid's _Ex Ponto_ 3.8 as spurious. This paper argues strenuously (perhaps too strenuously) that this proposal is based on misreadings of the text and that (barring other evidence that... more
A proposals has been made to delete several lines of Ovid's _Ex Ponto_ 3.8 as spurious. This paper argues strenuously (perhaps too strenuously) that this proposal is based on misreadings of the text and that (barring other evidence that they are spurious) the lines ought to be retained.
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In Agamemnon's gloating recollection of the night Troy fell (Aeschylus, _Agamemnon_ 825-828), he makes a reference to the Pleiades which calls out for explanation. This paper connects that astronomical reference to others latent in the... more
In Agamemnon's gloating recollection of the night Troy fell (Aeschylus, _Agamemnon_ 825-828), he makes a reference to the Pleiades which calls out for explanation. This paper connects that astronomical reference to others latent in the play to bring out a strain of cosmographic imagery, prefiguring the destinies of the principal figures of the play.
Research Interests:
A short story based partly on the medieval legend of Vergil the necromancer. When the Roman world is besieged by nightmares, Augustus sends Vergil to investigate the underworld.