The Failure of Horace's Epodes

Abstract

Within the sphere of Ancient Greek and Latin insult poetry, Horace’s Epodes represent a breaking down of the invective and iambic genres, resulting in failure. The cycle begins with a sleight of hand, as Horace deceives his audience by the avoidance of invective in the first two odes. However, when the expected invective arrives, it is constantly undermined by Horace’s own impotence his attempts to cast himself in a dominant and masculine light. By the end of the cycle, the distinction between the abuser and abused has collapsed and the invective poet is rendered powerless at the hands of the witch Canidia. Ultimately, Horace’s attempts to define himself fail in a Rome shaken by the uncertainty of civil war.