Aetna mihi carmen erit: A Commentary on the pseudo-Virgilian 'Aetna', lines 1-300

Abstract

This thesis provides the first monograph-length literary critical study of the pseudo-Virgilian Aetna, a 645-verse Latin didactic poem of anonymous authorship on the workings of Mount Etna. The thesis accomplishes this via the hybrid approach of extended discursive introductory essays on the entirety of the poem and line-by-line commentary on the first 300 verses of it. The introduction is structured as follows: firstly, I provide an evaluation of the issues of the poem’s authorship and dating, arguing for a dating-scope of c. 65-79 AD, and suggesting that the authorship question be regarded as of secondary importance to that of analysis of the text itself. Secondly, I discuss the Greco-Roman literary tradition associated with Mount Etna prior to the Aetna, in order to illustrate the backdrop to the composition of the poem. Thirdly, I evaluate the influence of the Aetna’s various models over it, and argue that the poem should not be assigned to a particular philosophical school. Fourthly, I address the Aetna’s self-conscious aspects, arguing that the poem can be read as a comment on the futility of its own didactic genre. To conclude my introduction, I provide an evaluation of the textual transmission of the poem and of previous editions of it. Many of the themes addressed in the introduction are those that emerge most prominently in the line-by-line commentary. The commentary itself aims to make this difficult text more accessible. It has a strong focus on literary interpretation of the poem, but also addresses textual issues where necessary. Working hand-in-hand with the introductory essays, it aims to demonstrate that the Aetna is a far more interesting and significant composition than it has previously been credited as.