Catullus decentred: the poetics of the periphery
| dc.contributor.advisor | Thom, Sjarlene | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Thom, J. C. | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.author | De Villiers, Annemarie | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.other | Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies. | en_ZA |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2016-03-09T14:10:49Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2016-03-09T14:10:49Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2016-03 | |
| dc.description | Thesis (DPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2016. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Catullus is, after Vergil and Horace, the most studied Latin poet. His poems portray a speaking subject whose intense experience of the people and circumstances in his world immediately draws in the reader by suggesting a believable personality experiencing universal emotions. Although the speaker in the poems has often been described as a marginalized figure in terms of his status as a provincial in Rome the problem of his decentredness has not been considered as a recurring motif in the Catullan oeuvre. This study investigates the depiction of the Catullan speaker as a peripheral figure throughout the corpus by analyzing 63 of the 113 poems. Five categories are identified which correspond to the speaker’s experience of being side-lined under different circumstances: the peripheral figure in Rome, the rejected lover, the misunderstood or undervalued friend, the ambiguous invective speaker, and the sympathizer with mythological outcasts. Selected poems are grouped together and analyzed in five chapters based on these categories. These five chapters are introduced by a chapter on a number of theories which may contribute to a better understanding of a peripheral literary personality. Chapter 1 discusses the theories of liminality, dialogism, symbolic space and narrative as means to a clearer formulation of the identity of a marginalized figure. In chapter 2 the Catullan speaker’s peripheral position in Rome is analyzed in terms of the notion of urbanitas, the sophisticated behaviour and aesthetic judgment associated with the city, as well as with reference to his brother’s death, the person who symbolizes his closest link to his rural hometown of Verona. Chapter 3 is concerned with the peripheral status of the Catullan speaker as lover in terms of his relationship with the notoriously disloyal Lesbia in particular, but also with reference to his infatuation with the young man Juventius who openly rejects him. In chapter 4 the Catullan speaker features as a misunderstood or undervalued friend. This chapter analyzes poems directed at friends whose lack of the reciprocal faithfulness implied by amicitia leaves the speaker with a profound sense of not-belonging. Chapter 5 focuses on the Catullan speaker’s use of invective to lash out at enemies or rivals in love. Despite the speaker’s apparent delight in harsh verbal abuse, his loud protestations mask a deep-seated vulnerability and a keen awareness of his own precarious position in the situation in hand. Finally chapter 6 looks at the mythological outcasts Attis and Ariadne as representatives of the only way of life available to those individuals who do not conform to society’s mould. From the perspective of someone who is neither an insider nor a complete outsider the Catullan speaker presents the reader with a unique perspective on Roman society both in terms of the public world of socio-politics as well as the private world of intimate relationships between individuals. At the same time the unique personality of a decentred speaker is revealed. This is the poetics of the periphery. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | AFRIKAANS OPSOMMING: Catullus is na Vergilius en Horatius die Latynse digter wat die meeste bestudeer word. Sy gedigte beeld ’n spreker uit wie se diep belewing van die mense en omstandighede in sy wêreld die leser onmiddellik betrek deur ’n geloofwaardige persoonlikheid met universele emosies voor te stel. Alhoewel die spreker in die gedigte al dikwels as ’n gemarginaliseerde figuur beskryf is met betrekking tot sy status as ’n provinsiaal in Rome, is die probleem van sy gedesentreerde posisie nog nie as ’n herhalende motief in Catullus se oeuvre beskou nie. Hierdie tesis ondersoek die uitbeelding van die Catullus-spreker as ’n randfiguur dwarsdeur die korpus deur 63 van die 113 gedigte te ontleed. Vyf kategorieë wat verband hou met die spreker se ervaring, onder verskillende omstandighede, dat hy na die kantlyn uitgeskuif word, word geïdentifiseer: die randfiguur in Rome, die verwerpte minnaar, die vriend wat misverstaan of onderwaardeer word, die dubbelsinnige spreker van skeldtaal en die simpatiseerder met mitiese uitgeworpenes. Uitgesoekte gedigte word saam gegroepeer en in vyf hoofstukke ontleed op grond van hierdie kategorieë. Die vyf hoofstukke word ingelei deur ’n hoofstuk oor verskeie teorieë wat kan bydra tot ’n beter verstaan van ’n literêre randfiguur. Hoofstuk 1 ondersoek die teorieë van liminaliteit, dialogisme, simboliese ruimte en narratief as middele tot ’n duideliker formulering van die gemarginaliseerde se identiteit. In hoofstuk 2 word die spreker se posisie as randfiguur in Rome ontleed met betrekking tot die begrip urbanitas, die gesofistikeerde gedrag en estetiese oordeel wat met die stad verbind word, asook met verwysing na die dood van sy broer, die persoon wat sy sterkste band met sy landelike tuisdorp Verona verteenwoordig. Hoofstuk 3 ondersoek die Catullus-spreker as ’n randfiguur in sy liefdesverhoudings, veral met betrekking tot Lesbia, berug vir haar ontrouheid, maar ook met verwysing na sy versotheid op die jong man Juventius. Hoofstuk 4 handel oor die Catullus-spreker as ’n vriend wat misverstaan of onderwaardeer word. Hierdie hoofstuk ontleed gedigte gerig aan vriende wie se gebrek aan die wederkerige getrouheid, soos vervat in die konsep amicitia, die spreker met die gevoel laat dat hy nêrens behoort nie. Hoofstuk 5 fokus op die Catullus-spreker se gebruik van skeldtaal om vyande en mededingers vir ’n beminde se liefde by te kom. Ten spyte van die klaarblyklike vreugde wat die spreker put uit ’n felle geskel bedek sy luidrugtige besware ’n diep gewortelde kwesbaarheid en ’n fyn bewustheid van sy eie onsekere posisie in die betrokke situasie. Ten slotte ondersoek hoofstuk 6 die mitologiese uitgeworpenes Attis en Ariadne as verteenwoordigers van die enigste leefwyse wat beskikbaar is vir diegene wat nie in die samelewing se patroon inpas nie. Vanuit die perspektief van iemand wat nie ’n lid van die binnekring is nie, maar ook nie ’n volslae buitestander nie, bied die Catullus-spreker aan die leser ’n unieke blik op die Romeinse samelewing met betrekking tot sowel die openbare wêreld van sosio-politiek as die private wêreld van intieme verhoudings tussen individue. Terselfdertyd word die unieke persoonlikheid van ’n gedesentreerde spreker geopenbaar. Dit is die digkuns van die kantlyn. | af_ZA |
| dc.format.extent | viii, 298 pages | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/98367 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_ZA | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
| dc.rights.holder | Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Catullus, Gaius Valerius | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Rome -- Social life and custom | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Latin poetry | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | UCTD | |
| dc.title | Catullus decentred: the poetics of the periphery | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |