Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
6-2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Program
Classics
Advisor
David Petrain
Committee Members
Philip Thibodeau
Liv Mariah Yarrow
Subject Categories
Classical Literature and Philology
Keywords
Tibullus, elegy, Roman economy, literary theory
Abstract
This dissertation argues that attention to economic anxieties in Tibullus’ elegies is crucial to understanding his corpus. Concerns about agricultural production, globalized trade, and institutional power recur throughout the elegies. An appreciation of economic desire may not only produce a fruitful reading of Tibullus’ poetry, but also help to answer some of the questions suggested by elegy’s socio-historical framework. This project relies methodologically on both economic analysis and a Lacanian psychoanalytic framework. Additionally, each chapter explores a different facet of religious experience in the elegies: the myth of the Golden Age, prayers to the goddess Ceres, and references to the Lares, Penates, and Pales. Close examination of these religious passages lays bare the role of economic anxieties in motivating prayers and sacrifices. The conclusion draws attention to larger patterns of exchange that underlie economic activity, religious ritual, and human relationships.
Recommended Citation
Jansson, Victoria Elizabeth, "Nunc Pauperis Agri: Rural Fantasy and Economic Reality in the Elegies of Tibullus" (2022). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/4818