A Challenge for Horace: Creating a Lyric Presence in Odes 1.1

Aaron Seider (University of Chicago)

When Horace set out to recreate the spirit of Greek lyric in Augustan Rome, he faced considerable obstacles. In addition to the technical challenges posed by lyric’s complex meters and Latin’s narrow range of diction, (Johnson, 1982) Horace had to project a distinctive lyric “I” in his poetry, just as the Greek lyrists had once done. This task of projecting a lyric “I”, however, was complicated by the nature of poetry at Rome. While his Greek models had the opportunity to sing directly to their audiences at various cultural and religious events, poetry in Horace’s time was a written phenomenon, largely disconnected from society’s institutions. (Feeney 1993; Fraenkel 1957) Horace, therefore, would have to engender a lyric presence at a distance from his audience, via written poetry.

In this paper I argue that the initial poem in Horace’s lyric collection is a successful first step in overcoming these obstacles and fostering a vital lyric presence. In both the address to Maecenas which begins Odes 1.1 and the priamel which follows, Horace sets his lyric “I” as a structuring force for the poetic world he creates.

Horace’s opening address to Maecenas reveals the pull of his lyric “I”: “Maecenas, descended from royal ancestors, O both my protection and my sweet glory”

(“Maecenas atauis edite regibus, / o et praesidium et dulce decus meum,” 1-2). “Maecenas” and “meum” bracket these two verses, and this structure emphasizes that Horace’s words are a personal communication between Maecenas and himself. While the modifier in line 1, “edite,” describes Maecenas in terms of his regal lineage, the second line subtly shifts the point of view. “O” begins Horace’s address anew, and the predicates “praesidium” and “dulce decus meum” emphasize the aspects of Maecenas most important to the poet. The force of Horace’s presence is apparent in this shift, as the characterization of Maecenas is aligned with the poet’s perspective.

Immediately after addressing Maecenas, Horace begins a priamel which extends to the poem’s end. He sets the description of his own vocation as the climax to a lengthy, and sometimes critical, list of other people’s pursuits. The politician, farmer, merchant and other characters preceding Horace’s appearance stand as foils, helping to further define his lyric “I”. When Horace sets himself as the climax to these various figures, he acts as both the praiser and the praised. In the typical organization of a Pindaric priamel the praiser and the praised are two different people: the poet and the athlete, respectively. (Bundy 1986) By conflating these two roles Horace casts his lyric “I” not only as the structuring force of his poetic world but also as its pinnacle.