Lucretius and the End of Masculinity

From beginning to end, the De rerum natura upsets expectations. This book's premise is that Lucretius intentionally provokes his imagined male audience, playfully and forcefully proving to them that they are not the men they suppose themselves to be. From astral bodies to the magnetic draw of human sexuality to the social bonds linking parents to children, Lucretius shows that everything is compounded material, both a source of atomic issue and receptacle of atomic ingress. The universe, as Lucretius presents it, is a never-ending cycle of material interpenetration, connectivity, and dissolution. Roman men, in the vastness of it all, are only exceptional in their self-defeating fantasies. Close analysis of Lucretius' poetics reveals an unremitting assault upon the fictions that comprise Roman masculinity, from seminal conception in utero to existential decomposition in the grave. Nevertheless, Lucretius offers an Epicurean vision of masculinity that just might save the Republic.

List of contents

1. Odd men out; 2. Humbled beginnings; 3. Nature's assault upon the senses; 4. The hole that gapes for all; 5. The ties that bind; 6. Vir Recreandus; Bibliography.

About the author

MICHAEL POPE is an Associate Professor of Classical Studies at Brigham Young University.

Product details

• Authors: Michael (Brigham Young University Pope, Pope Michael
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.09.2025
• EAN: 9781009242325
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0924232-5
• No. of pages: 240
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Antiquity; Latin, LITERARY CRITICISM / Ancient & Classical, Literary studies: classical, early & medieval, Ancient Rome, Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval, Classical style, C 500 CE To C 1000 CE, c 500 BCE to c 1500 CE (Italian ancient and medieval period), For higher / tertiary / university education