Elaine C Sanderson
Current:
Lecturer in Roman Literature and Culture (University of Liverpool)
Previous:
2022-23 Lecturer in Latin (University of St Andrews)
2021-22 Teaching Fellow in Latin (University of Edinburgh)
2020-23 Honorary Research Fellow (University of Liverpool)
2020-21 University Teacher in Classics & Ancient History (University of Liverpool)
2019-20 Lecturer in Classical Literature and Roman History/Culture (University of Liverpool)
2018-21 Liverpool Schools Classics Project Teaching Fellow (Greek & Latin)
2017-19 Graduate Teaching Assistant – Department of Archaeology, Classics, and Egyptology (University of Liverpool)
University of Liverpool, PhD Classics & Ancient History 2020
University of Exeter MA Classics & Ancient History 2016 (Distinction)
University of Exeter BA (Hons.) Classics 2015 (2.1)
Supervisors: Professor Bruce Gibson and Dr Alexei Zadorozhny
Lecturer in Roman Literature and Culture (University of Liverpool)
Previous:
2022-23 Lecturer in Latin (University of St Andrews)
2021-22 Teaching Fellow in Latin (University of Edinburgh)
2020-23 Honorary Research Fellow (University of Liverpool)
2020-21 University Teacher in Classics & Ancient History (University of Liverpool)
2019-20 Lecturer in Classical Literature and Roman History/Culture (University of Liverpool)
2018-21 Liverpool Schools Classics Project Teaching Fellow (Greek & Latin)
2017-19 Graduate Teaching Assistant – Department of Archaeology, Classics, and Egyptology (University of Liverpool)
University of Liverpool, PhD Classics & Ancient History 2020
University of Exeter MA Classics & Ancient History 2016 (Distinction)
University of Exeter BA (Hons.) Classics 2015 (2.1)
Supervisors: Professor Bruce Gibson and Dr Alexei Zadorozhny
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In this paper, I offer a radical reassessment of Lucan’s epic and propose that the Bellum Civile perceives and rationalises civil war as a period which transforms the Roman world (for better or worse). By comparing Lucan’s use of the state body motif and imagery of pervasive cosmic dissolution to illustrate the effects of civil war on his narrative universe with his Stoically- tinged accounts of metamorphosis in the natural world, I demonstrate that Lucan frames civil war as a temporary event which is fundamentally transformational rather than entirely destructive. I then suggest how this pragmatic view of Lucanian civil war offers a new ‘way in’ to read Lucan’s infamous invocation to Nero (Luc. 1.33-66), a passage which appears to confront readers with lavish praise and scathing mockery of the emperor in the same breath. I propose that, by acknowledging Lucan’s wider pragmatism, we may understand the invocation not as a declaration of optimism or pessimism regarding Nero’s rule, but rather as a shrewd commentary on the fleeting nature of catastrophe and the changes it may bring.
This thesis examines the Bellum Civile’s necromancy – a triumph of this interest in life and death – as a major metapoetic episode, the overarching themes of which suggest that Lucan’s conception of his central civil war subject is far less pessimistic and more pragmatic than a surface reading of his epic might suggest. The first three chapters of this thesis focus upon three metapoetic tropes within the necromancy episode – i) the vates figure, ii) the body, and iii) ‘songs’ – and argue that Lucan’s negotiation of these tropes shows that his wider poetic programme is far more nuanced and constructive than previously assumed. The first chapter examines the Bellum Civile’s negotiation of the vates figure and identifies Erictho as a key internal figure aligned with Lucan’s own vatic self-identification through which Lucan reflects upon his position and powers as a poet. The second chapter looks at one area of Erictho’s necromantic activities – her use of bodily materials – and argues that the sophisticated and rational characteristics of her actions offer a foil through which to understand Lucan’s constructive acquisition and reuse of literary materials. The third chapter substantiates this reading with a close examination of the literary qualities of Erictho’s carmina, before turning to consider the often-overlooked corpse and its utterances and suggesting that Erictho’s powers of reanimation mirror Lucan’s own powers of poetic creation and control. The final chapter draws out the productive and progressive themes which characterise the Bellum Civile’s poetic programme as highlighted in the previous three chapters and proposes that Lucan presents a pragmatic picture of civil war not as the end of all things, but as a totalistic process of transformation which - for better or for worse - leaves behind a new Roman world in its wake.