Figuring Genre in Roman Satire (Society for Classical Studies American Classical Studies, No. 51)

Satirists are social critics, but they are also products of society. Horace, Persius, and Juvenal, the verse satirists of ancient Rome, exploit this double identity to produce their colorful commentaries on social life and behavior. In a fresh comparative study that combines literary and cultural analysis, Catherine Keane reveals how the satirists create such a vivid and incisive portrayal of the Roman social world. Throughout the tradition, the narrating satirist figure does not observe human behavior from a distance, but adopts a range of charged social roles to gain access to his subject matter. In his mission to entertain and moralize, he poses alternately as a theatrical performer and a spectator, a perpetrator and victim of violence, a jurist and criminal, a teacher and student. In these roles the satirist conducts penetrating analyses of Rome's definitive social practices "from the inside." Satire's reputation as the quintessential Roman genre is thus even more justified than previously recognized. As literary artists and social commentators, the satirists rival the grandest authors of the classical canon. They teach their ancient and modern readers two important lessons. First, satire reveals the inherent fragilities and complications, as well as acknowledging the benefits, of Roman society's most treasured institutions. The satiric perspective deepens our understanding of Roman ideologies and their fault lines. As the poets show, no system of judgment, punishment, entertainment, or social organization is without its flaws and failures. At the same time, readers are encouraged to view the satiric genre itself as a composite of these systems, loaded with cultural meaning and highly imperfect. The satirist who functions as both subject and critic trains his readers to develop a critical perspective on every kind of authority, including his own. Figuring Genre in Roman Satire (2006) ......Page 1 AMERICAN CLASSICAL STUDIES - VOLUME 50......Page 3 ISBN: 0195183304......Page 5 Preface and Acknowledgments......Page 6 --> Contents......Page 8 OVERVIEW......Page 12 PROGRAMMATIC PROVOCATIONS......Page 13 READING SATIRE’S CONTENT......Page 16 PERFORMANCES OF THE SATIRIST FIGURE......Page 17 MAKING SATIRIC HISTORY......Page 19 1 - The Theatrics of Satire......Page 22 MASKS OF THE SATIRIST......Page 23 IN VOLGO ET SCAENA......Page 28 PRIVATE VIEWINGS......Page 33 THE MIRRORS OF DRAMA AND SATIRE......Page 37 2 - Satiric Attack......Page 51 ANIMAL, MARTIAL, AND MEDICAL IMAGES OF THE SATIRIST......Page 54 FACING THE PAST......Page 61 ATTACKING WORDS......Page 67 AMBIGUOUS PLEASURES......Page 72 3 - Satire and the Law......Page 82 THE SATIRIST’S LEGAL PREDICAMENT......Page 84 LIVING WITH LAW......Page 93 BOUND BY METAPHOR......Page 101 SELECTIVE JUSTICE AND LEGAL QUICKSAND......Page 104 4 - Teaching Satire......Page 114 FROM PRIMA ELEMENTA TO SATURNALIA......Page 117 CHANGING THE TERMS OF TEACHING......Page 130 TEACHING VICE, MAKING SATIRE......Page 136 Conclusion - Observing Romans......Page 146 INTRODUCTION......Page 152 CHAPTER 1......Page 154 CHAPTER 2......Page 159 CHAPTER 3......Page 163 CHAPTER 4......Page 168 CONCLUSION: OBSERVING ROMANS......Page 173 EDITIONS AND COMMENTARIES......Page 174 BOOKS AND ARTICLES......Page 175 Index......Page 184 "Satirists are social critics, but they are also products of society. Horace, Persius, and Juvenal, the verse satirists of ancient Rome, exploit this double identity to produce their colorful commentaries on social life and behavior. In a fresh comparative study that combines literary and cultural analysis, Catherine Keane reveals how the satirists create a vivid and incisive portrayal of the Roman social world. Throughout the tradition, the narrating satirist figure does not observe human behavior from a distance, but adopts a range of charged social roles to gain access to his subject matter. In his mission to entertain and moralize, the satirist poses alternately as a theatrical performer and spectator, a perpetrator and victim of violence, a jurist and criminal, a teacher and student. In these roles the satirist conducts penetrating analyses of Rome's definitive social practices "from the inside." Satire's reputation as the quintessential Roman genre is thus even more justified than previously recognized."--BOOK JACKET Horace, Persius, and Juvenal, the verse satirists of ancient Rome, developed a unique mode of social criticism by borrowing from their culture's methods of entertainment and moral judgment. This analysis of the satiric genre reveals its debt to four key Roman practices: theater, public violence, legal process, and teaching