Themes Pharsalia

1 themes

1.1 horrors of civil war
1.2 flawed characters
1.3 anti-imperialism
1.4 treatment of supernatural
1.5 poem civil war
1.6 poetic representation of history

themes
horrors of civil war

lucan emphasizes despair of topic in poem s first 7 lines (the same length opening virgil s aeneid):

events throughout poem described in terms of insanity , sacrilege. far glorious, battle scenes portraits of bloody horror, nature ravaged build terrible siege engines , wild animals tear mercilessly @ flesh of dead (perhaps reflecting taste of audience accustomed bloodlust of gladiatorial games).

flawed characters

most of main characters featured in pharsalia terribly flawed , unattractive. caesar, instance, presented successful military leader, strikes fear hearts of people , extremely destructive. lucan conveys using simile (book 1, lines 151–7) compares caesar thunderbolt:

throughout pharsalia, simile holds, , caesar continuously depicted active force, strikes great power.

pompey, on other hand, old , past prime, , years of peacetime have turned him soft. susanna braund argues lucan has taken weaker, human, elements of aeneas character—aeneas doubting mission, aeneas husband , lover—and bestowed them upon pompey. , while portrays leader indecisive, slow action, , ineffective, make him main character shown have sort of emotional life. more, lucan @ times explicitly roots pompey. nevertheless, leader doomed in end. lucan compares pompey large oak-tree (book 1, lines 136–43), still quite magnificent on verge of falling over:

by comparing caesar bolt of lightning, , pompey large tree on verge of death, lucan poetically implies on in pharsalia caesar strike , fell pompey.

the grand exception bleak depiction of characters cato, stands stoic ideal in face of world gone mad (he alone, example, refuses consult oracles know future). pompey seems transformed after pharsalus, becoming kind of stoic martyr; calm in face of death upon arrival in egypt, receives virtual canonization lucan @ start of book ix. elevation of stoic , republican principles in sharp contrast ambitious , imperial caesar, becomes greater monster after decisive battle. though caesar wins in end, lucan makes sentiments known in famous line victrix causa deis placuit sed victa catoni – victorious cause pleased gods, vanquished [cause] pleased cato.

anti-imperialism

given lucan s clear anti-imperialism, flattering book dedication nero – includes lines multum roma tamen debet ciuilibus armis | quod tibi res acta est – rome greater these civil wars, because resulted in – puzzling. scholars have tried read these lines ironically, see traditional dedication written @ time before (supposed) true depravity of lucan s patron revealed. extant lives of poet support interpretation, stating portion of pharsalia in circulation before lucan , nero had falling out.

furthermore, according braund, lucan s negative portrayal of caesar in portion of poem not meant criticism of nero, , may have been lucan s way of warning new emperor issues of past.

treatment of supernatural

in book six, erichtho (pictured) performs necromantic rite, many contend 1 of pharsalia s best-known sequences.

lucan breaks epic tradition minimizing, , in cases, ignoring (and argue, denying) existence of traditional roman deities. in marked contrast predecessors, vergil , ovid, used anthropomorphized gods , goddesses major players in works. according susanna braund, choosing not focus on gods, lucan emphasizes , underscores human role in atrocities of roman civil war. james duff duff, on other hand, argues [lucan] dealing roman history , recent events; , introduction of gods actors must have been grotesque.

this, however, not pharsalia devoid of supernatural phenomenon; in fact, quite opposite true, , braund argues supernatural in manifestations played highly significant part in structuring of epic. braund sees supernatural falling 2 categories: dreams , visions , portents, prophecies, , consultations of supernatural powers . in regards first category, poem features 4 explicit , important dream , vision sequences: caesar s vision of roma cross rubicon, ghost of julia appearing pompey, pompey s dream of happy past, , caesar , troops dream of battle , destruction 4 of these dream-visions placed strategically throughout poem, provide balance , contrast. in regards second category, lucan describes number portents, 2 oracular episodes, , perhaps famously erichtho s necromantic rite. manifestation of supernatural more public, , serves many purposes, including reflect rome s turmoil on supernatural plane , contribute atmosphere of sinster foreboding describing disturbing rituals.

the poem civil war

according jamie masters, lucan s pharsalia not poem civil war, rather in metaphorical way civil war. in other words, argues lucan embraces metaphor of internal discord , allows determine way story told weaving fabric of poem itself. masters proposes lucan s work both pompeian (in sense celebrates memory of pompey, revels in delay, , decries horrors of civil war) , caesarian (in sense still recounts pompey s death, overcomes delay, , describes horrors of war in careful detail). because lucan on both of characters sides whilst supporting neither, poem inherently @ war itself. furthermore, because lucan seems place numerous obstacles before caesar, can seen opposing caesar s actions. however, since lucan still chooses record them in song, he—being poet , 1 has final on goes work—is in ways waging war himself. ultimately, masters refers binary opposition sees throughout entire poem lucan s schizophrenic poetic persona .

poetic representation of history

though pharsalia historical epic, wrong think lucan interested in details of history itself. 1 commentator has pointed out, lucan more concerned significance of events rather events themselves.

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