Chapter 2 - Context and Prehistory of the Elegiac Grotesque

Summary

The primary purpose of this chapter is to show that, in the philosophical and literary discourse that immediately preceded the development of Roman love elegy, there exists a context conducive to the grotesque figuration of the sublimity of love and lovers. In Roman culture the philosophical discourse was dominated by Lucretius, who developed his views in dialogue with the poetry and natural philosophy of the centuries that preceded him, especially in the expository genres that united poetry and philosophy. The literary discourse is focused on Catullus, whose use of metaphors as instances of material identification shock the reader with the violation of logic and the transgression of nature. In the elegiac libellus Catullus resorts frequently to such violations, extending them to the human body, to social conduct, and to love itself. Indeed, Catullus makes bold use of the grotesque to show that beneath the flimsy surface of elegance, urbanity, and sentiment expected of the poetic discourse on love, there lurks a reality that is both defiled and defiling. By using images and evocations of this reality, Catullus admits into the domain of love poetry thematic materials and language that transgress the expectations of works meant to foreground love and beauty.