Chapter 2 - Speaking Aposiopeseis

Summary

Despite the many studies devoted to aposiopesis in Latin poetry, a deeper insight into this rhetorical figure in Statius’ Thebaid is called for. This paper argues that Statius is the first to use such a figure of speech extensively in Latin epic and does so in his poem also marking programmatic loci, teasing out a tension between the epic and other literary genres, otherwise said between the Thebaid itself and the ones before it (see e.g. Theb. 4, 516; 8, 60; 7, 210; 12, 301; 380–5). By discussing some of the most relevant points, my paper highlights Statius’ programmatic use of aposiopesis: it shows the poet’s choice to avoid deviations to other poetic genres – such as tragedy or elegy – in his epic, in contexts where such contaminations would not be suitable. Moreover, the paper argues that aposiopesis is a relevant intertextual link between the Thebaid and Statius’ poetic background: we are dealing with silent challenges which further develop Statius’ meta-poetic discourse on generic interactions and literary memory.