This dissertation explores the ground of, and practices of self-reflexivity behind, the often polemical contemporary debates that surround research practices and methodology in humanities and social sciences historiography. I focus on the unexamined reciprocity between conceptions of history and the linguistic and imagistic practices of remembering that affect and produce historiography in the eighteenth century: despite the identity of their epistemological foundation, in the long eighteenth century, ''history'' and "memory" begin to function as diverging truth-claims. By the end of the seventeenth century, John Locke's well-known articulation of tabula rasa--itself a divergence from the remarkably stable medieval and renaissance conceptions of memory as "storehouse" and tabula rasa--signals an epistemological shift in forms of objectivity and, consequently, the subject's experiences of her his interiority. I analyze aspects of the effects of this emerging epistemology on eighteenth century thinkers' reconstructions of the "social body." Across a number of authors' works and forms of representation--William Congreve's drama, Mary Wollstonecraft's political argumentation, picturesque theory and representation of nature, Locke, Hume, and Joseph Priestly's philosophical debates, and William Blake and Laurence Sterne's literary works--I attempt to trace significant shifts in the relation of, 'memory" and ''history.'' Throughout the chapters I focus on the relation of linguistic strategies of representation to shifts in various kinds of social and personal formations: from gender roles and political or cultural forms, to interpretations of causality, agency, and avenues for social change. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

N/A / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

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Scholarship on Roman satire has been dominated for nearly fifty years by a rhetorical approach that emphasizes the artifice of the poet. Consequently, it has been unsure what to do with the philosophical material in Horace's Sermones. In my dissertation, I argue for the importance of Epicurean philosophy in the interpretative scheme of Horace's satiric oeuvre. Epicurean ideas appear prominently and repeatedly, mostly in a positive light, and respond to the concerns and philosophical prejudices of Horace's closest friends. In the prologue, I explore how Horace himself inscribes the process of interpreting and responding to a satire into S. 2.8. He frames his reading circle as key observers in the satiric scene that unfolds before them, suggesting the importance of the audience to satire. Chapter one builds upon this vision by emphasizing reader response as a key element of satiric theory. Satire, as a participant in the cultural debates of its day, orients itself toward a like-minded group of readers who are expected to grasp the satiric thrust of the text and understand its nuances. It orients itself against outsiders who respond seriously to the text in some fashion, often failing to realize that satire is even occurring. I term this process the satiric effect. Chapter two demonstrates that Horace's closest friends in his reading circle share connections to Epicureanism. The social dynamics of reading circles reinforce my theoretical emphasis upon the satiric audience. Vergil, Varius, Plotius Tucca, and Quintilius Varus studied with the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus whose treatises also offer insight into the social dynamics of an Epicurean circle. Chapter three explores how Sermones I articulates itself toward Horace's reading circle. Given the Epicurean biases present within Horace's reading circle, I explore an interpretation through the lens of these Epicurean preferences. Chapters four and five emphasize that the philosophical themes initiated by Horace in the first book also run through the second, making it more cohesive than previously thought, but only become apparent when we consider them from the particular mindset of the reading circle. I conclude by noting possible extensions for my literary theory in other authors. / text

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The gendered characterization of the Propertian lover-poet does not fit comfortably into either the role of a traditionally masculine elite male Roman or that of an effeminate elegiac lover. This dissertation argues for a lover-poet whose gender role draws on and reacts to elements from both of these pre-existing roles with the end result of a character that disidentifies with Roman gender roles and exists outside of the binary oppositions that they provide. The lover-poet’s characterization is intimately bound to that of his elegiac puella, usually identified in the poetry as Cynthia, and as such the focus of this dissertation is on the poems in which the lover-poet and Cynthia interact. Propertius explores tensions inherent in the gendered roles and relationships of elegy through his exposure of the limits of elegiac fides and his interaction with non-elegiac fides as part of the language of Roman social relations. These tensions are further exposed through his use of women’s speech, which depicts women as critical of both the elegiac scenario and of mainstream Roman values. Propertius uses the common elegiac trope seruitium amoris to consider issues of freedom, speech, and patronage both within and without the elegiac world and differs from the other Latin love poets in his presentation of his puella as possessing a measure of mastery. He also uses the equally common trope militia amoris to portray the elegiac world as morally superior to that of traditional militia, including epic poetry and contemporary conquest and empire-building. The existence of similar themes and critiques in the non-Cynthia poems, especially those that ostensibly praise Augustus, suggests the importance of further investigation into the connection between Propertius’ construction of masculinity and the social, cultural, and political change of the Augustan era.

The gendered characterization of the Propertian lover-poet does not fit comfortably into either the role of a traditionally masculine elite male Roman or that of an effeminate elegiac lover. This dissertation argues for a lover-poet whose gender role draws on and reacts to elements from both of these pre-existing roles with the end result of a character that disidentifies with Roman gender roles and exists outside of the binary oppositions that they provide. The lover-poet’s characterization is intimately bound to that of his elegiac puella, usually identified in the poetry as Cynthia, and as such the focus of this dissertation is on the poems in which the lover-poet and Cynthia interact. Propertius explores tensions inherent in the gendered roles and relationships of elegy through his exposure of the limits of elegiac fides and his interaction with non-elegiac fides as part of the language of Roman social relations. These tensions are further exposed through his use of women’s speech, which depicts women as critical of both the elegiac scenario and of mainstream Roman values. Propertius uses the common elegiac trope seruitium amoris to consider issues of freedom, speech, and patronage both within and without the elegiac world and differs from the other Latin love poets in his presentation of his puella as possessing a measure of mastery. He also uses the equally common trope militia amoris to portray the elegiac world as morally superior to that of traditional militia, including epic poetry and contemporary conquest and empire-building. The existence of similar themes and critiques in the non-Cynthia poems, especially those that ostensibly praise Augustus, suggests the importance of further investigation into the connection between Propertius’ construction of masculinity and the social, cultural, and political change of the Augustan era.

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Augustan propaganda surrounding Apollo provided the perfect literary device through which Augustan poets could express their sentiments about the new regime. Augustus transformed Apollo from a relatively insignificant god in the Roman pantheon to his own multi-faceted god whose various attributes were meant to legitimize his new position within the Roman Empire. In this thesis I discuss how Ovid uses Augustus’ political affiliation with Apollo to comment on Augustan marriage legislation in two of his texts. In Ovid’s manual on seduction, the Ars Amatoria, he denies poetic inspiration from Apollo at the beginning of his work, preferring instead to draw from his own experiences. However, Ovid seemingly contradicts himself by having Apollo appear later on to offer him advice. In his Metamorphoses, Ovid ridicules Apollo’s failed pursuit of Daphne. However, Apollo is seemingly victorious after all, since he uses Daphne’s laurel as his perpetual victory symbol. In both these instances, Ovid veils his political commentary by initially ridiculing Apollo in matters of love, only to seemingly glorify him shortly after. By excluding Apollo from matters of love, Ovid indirectly is disapproving of Augustus’ involvement in social affairs in Rome. Ovid proves to be a master of language yet again as he plays with the literary tradition and political implication of Apollo in these two texts to convey his discontent regarding Augustan marriage legislation.