Sulpicia

Parker, Holt N. - Sulpicia, the auctor de Sulpicia, and the authorship of 3.9 and 3.11 of the Corpus Tibullianum. Helios 1994 21 : 39-62. • The traditional ascription of [Tib.] 3, 9 and 3, 11 to an auctor de Sulpicia is baseless. They should simply be taken as what they claim to be : poems by Sulpicia.

This essay explores the significance of a model of collaborative authorship for the Sulpicia elegies in the Appendix Tibulliana ([Tib.] 3.8–18). As is well known, these poems represent the most substantial corpus of extant women’s writing in Latin from pre-Christian antiquity—but some classicists have doubted that they were actually written by the niece of the prominent literary patron Messalla Corvinus. In part, these doubts arise from quirks in the way Sulpicia is presented—above all, the switch from a first- to a third-person perspective in [Tib.] 3.8, 3.10, and 3.12. It is argued here, however, that Sulpicia would have been required to conceal her authorial identity, to some extent, by patriarchal restrictions on the presence of women in the public sphere. I draw attention to the evidence of Pliny, Ep. 4.19.3, which indicates that Roman women who were still under the direct control of male guardians had to be hidden from view at formal recitationes. I suggest that Sulpicia’s poetry may originally have been recited by a slave or freedwoman lectrix like Sulpicia Petale, whose verse epitaph (AE 1928: 73) has been attributed to Sulpicia the elegist by Jane Stevenson (2005: 42–4). Moreover, I consider the possibility that Sulpicia’s poems might have been written in partnership with other members of her household, along the lines that Gurd 2012 has highlighted for authors such as Cicero. Finally, a detailed reading of the programmatic [Tib.] 3.13 shows Sulpicia reaching out to the Roman literary community of which she was not allowed full membership, and inviting women readers in particular to engage with her in textual collaboration.

Today it is relatively unquestioned that Sulpicia, the elegiac woman of [Tib.] 3.8-18, was a historical woman of the same name who lived and wrote Latin elegies in Augustan Rome, and that the poems attributed to her are autobiographical records of love, thereby making Sulpicia a Roman version of Sappho. However, if the extant evidence is given a closer look, a different picture emerges. Specifically, if one recognizes the generic conventions at play in the poems, there is no longer reason to date them to the Augustan period, nor to read the figure of Sulpicia as different than any other constructed elegiac woman, nor to read the poems as disconnected from the rest of the genre of Latin love elegy. Rather, the poems quite likely date to after the heyday of the genre, and thus they appear to be pseudepigrapha or chronological fakes, written to recall and respond to the work of the canonical elegists and the Greek roots of the genre. And, if this is their correct context, it follows that the figure of Sulpicia was specifically chosen by the unknown author to provide a particular interpretation and/or comment on the genre, not unlike the fictional figure of Diotima in Plato’s Symposium. The Sulpicia that then emerges is not a Roman Sappho in the sense that we would like her to be, but rather a purely literary figure such as she is portrayed in the first known post-classical construction of her by the humanist Giovanni Pontano. Though such a reading may result in the loss of what was previously thought to be the only extant work of a female Roman poet, this justifiably renewed line of research into male authorship for the poems brings with it much potential.

"Roman and Roman-friendly Women Writers Bibliography (Poetry)" in D. Mantzilas, Roman and Roman-friendly Women Writers: Poetesses and Prose Writers from the Beginnings of Latin Literature to Late Antiquity [Ρωμαίες και Φιλορωμαίες συγγραφείς: ποιήτριες και πεζογράφοι από τις απαρχές έως την ύστερη Αρχαιότητα], Ioannina: Carpe Diem Publications, 2018, passim

The thesis seeks an answer to the question ‘How did the Romans’ view on sexuality change during the early Empire, from the late Republic to the first two centuries of the Principate?’ by studying law and literature in the chosen period and whether we can see changes in these. The background for this question, lies in emperor Augustus’ moral laws lēx Iūlia dē marītandīs ōrdinibus and lēx Iūlia dē adul­teriīs coercendīs, that is, The Julian law on the marrying of the classes, and The Julian law on the punishing of adultery. The thesis studies how sexuality, sexual deviance and expressions of these were accounted for in law, and how law addressed human sexuality during the Principate till the time of Marcus Aurelius. The second part of the thesis covers how this came to be expressed in literature. From the late Republic to the Augustan age, we get to know texts by Cicero, Catullus and Sulpicia, and from the time of the Principate, Martial, Juvenal and Pliny the younger. By examining the writers’ expressions of sexuality, and how this changed over time, the thesis aims at providing an answer to what the Romans considered sexual deviance, and which changes one can find in the study of law and literature.

The thesis is also available through Munin (http://munin.uit.no/handle/10037/8432), where it was originally published (open access). It is written in Norwegian and has numerous textual examples in Latin with vowel length shown, some in Greek, and translations provided for everything.

This paper questions the assumption that the female persona in the Sulpicia elegies ([Tib.] 3.8–18) places the poems in the margins of their genre and warrants a focus on the biography of their author. When we consider the historical context and literary conventions involved in the rest of the genre, this trend may signify a modern desire for a Roman Sappho and, subsequently, a modern construction of such projected into the past. As such, this paper suggests that the standard readings of Sulpicia are themselves peripheral, and that the research priority should be on the poetic context of these elegies.

Two women named Sulpicia are part of Latin literature. The first belonged to the literary circle of Messala Corvinus, in the Augustan age; she is the author of short elegies that are partially received. The second, which may have belonged to the same family, praised by her contemporary Martial, wrote erotic epigrams  not received.

Sulpicia's poetry is the site of a struggle with the androcentric norms of Latin Love Elegy.  The "Garland Poet" responds to her poems by returning her to the world of Elegy as a pretty girl delightfully in love.  His poems precede hers and begin "Sulpicia" (another written woman).

Nell’ambito della didattica del latino e del greco, la traduzione di un brano è l’unica attività in grado di verificare contemporaneamente tanto le competenze di comprensione e di interpretazione del testo quanto le conoscenze grammaticali. Per facilitare il lavoro dei docenti, molte case editrici mettono a disposizione degli studenti piattaforme e-learning con versioni guidate. Tuttavia, il loro impiego può divenire problematico: iscriversi ai portali è vincolato all’adozione di un libro o al pagamento di un abbonamento e, inoltre, si corre il rischio che l’esercizio non rispetti la volontà del docente o il livello raggiunto dagli studenti. Per consentire ai docenti di personalizzare i propri strumenti per l’insegnamento, si propone un intervento di carattere laboratoriale. L’intervento, che documenta una sperimentazione in atto volta a personalizzare i materiali didattici, illustra la progettazione di una “versione guidata” e la sua costruzione col modulo quiz di Moodle. L’obiettivo è quello di mostrare i vantaggi offerti da quest’attività: la possibilità di costruire un esercizio adattivo con domande di varia tipologia e numerose opzioni di personalizzazione, di fornire feedback specifici e generici per correggere gli errori degli studenti in maniera veloce ed esauriente, di ottenere statistiche dettagliate sul processo di apprendimento. Precede il tutorial la descrizione dell’impiego di Moodle all’interno di un percorso didattico sperimentato di recente finalizzato all’apprendimento/insegnamento della lingua e della cultura latina attraverso le nuove tecnologie.

From the backlist.  A 1987 piece on Sulpicia, more especially on the longer, so-called 'amicus Sulpiciae' elegies, reading them alongside the much shorter elegies more securely attributed to the poet Sulpicia herself within the Corpus Tibullianum.  (Even back in 1987, the word 'poetess' in my title wasn't unthinking antediluvianism, but an allusion to the perspective of the 'amicus'.)  Unfootnoted after the first page, as being a sui generis Festschrift essay.

descarga gratuita: www.teseopress.com/corneliaclodiahortensiaysulpicia/

Este trabajo analiza la figura de cuatro mujeres de la tardo-república romana. En primer lugar, caracterizamos el lugar de las mujeres de este período: la domus, espacio doméstico contrapuesto a lo público, sitio de los varones. Las cuatro mujeres que estudiamos en este volumen no permanecieron confinadas a tales límites, sino que, por el contrario, se aventuraron en otros espacios. Cornelia, madre de los Graco, modelo de matrona ideal, participó de espacios vinculados con la formación, charlas y patronazgos, a la vez que jugó un papel activo en cuestiones políticas de su tiempo. Clodia Meteli representó una especie de antimatrona, de acuerdo con los testimonios que se conservan sobre ella, y también tomó parte en actividades habitualmente destinadas solo a los varones. De Hortensia se conserva un discurso que pronunció públicamente en defensa de las matronas. Sulpicia fue una poetisa que concurrió en las actividades de producción y circulación de poesía, con una elaboración típicamente femenina y de gran valor. De estos trabajos y análisis, apreciamos la importancia política, económica, jurídica, social y cultural de las matronas in domo et in re publica.

Ο έρωτας και οι ποικίλες εκφάνσεις του δεν έπαψαν ποτέ να βρίσκονται στο επίκεντρο του δημόσιου και του ιδιωτικού βίου της Ρώμης. Διόλου τυχαία, άλλωστε, η λέξη ROMA αναγραμματίζεται σε AMOR (= έρωτας). Οι Ρωμαίοι ποιητές, στην προσπάθειά τους να φανούν αντάξιοι συνεχιστές των Ελλήνων προκατόχων τους, καλλιέργησαν συστηματικά και διεύρυναν το πεδίο της ερωτικής γραφής κατακτώντας νέους εκφραστικούς τρόπους, εξερευνώντας νέες θεματικές και προχωρώντας σε τολμηρά νέα εγχειρήματα. Η λατινική ερωτική ποίηση είναι γεμάτη πολυχρωμία, εκπλήξεις, ανατροπές και αντινομίες. Τη διακρίνει φαντασία, ευαισθησία, τόλμη, ειρωνεία και, όχι σπάνια, καυστικό χιούμορ. Είναι ένας χώρος αναρίθμητων αποχρώσεων, όπου τα πιο λεπτά σκιρτήματα μιας ερωτευμένης καρδιάς μπορούν να συνυπάρχουν με την εκδικητική μανία ενός προδομένου έρωτα.
(…)
Η ανθολογία αυτή απευθύνεται σε κάθε αναγνώστη που επιθυμεί να γνωρίσει τη λατινική ποίηση, αλλά και σε εκείνον που θέλει να διευρύνει τη γνωριμία του με αυτήν. Σύντομα εργοβιογραφικά σημειώματα για κάθε ποιητή βοηθούν τον αναγνώστη να αποκτήσει μια, έστω αδρή, εικόνα των συνθηκών (ιστορικών, πολιτικών, πνευματικών, και άλλων) συγγραφής κάθε έργου, ώστε να μπορέσει να εκτιμήσει καλύτερα τη συμβολή κάθε δημιουργού. Σύντομες ερμηνευτικές υποσημειώσεις παρατίθενται για να διευκολύνουν την κατανόηση του κειμένου.

La lengua de Sulpicia no puede ser tomada como exponente del latín femenino clásico: sus rasgos peculiares más sobresalientes aparecen en otros poetas y un poeta del círculo de Mesala pudiera «enmascararse» tras su nombre. El análisis estrictamente lingüístico de los poemas sulpicianos pone de relieve una gran preocupación formal y un amplio dominio de la técnica que echan por tierra la supuesta sencillez, ingenuidad y espontaneidad que la crítica tradicional ve en ellos.

The language of Sulpicia cannot be taken as a clear example of the Latin of a female classical author: its most striking peculiarities also appear in other (male) poets, and a male poet from the circle of Messala could well be "hiding" behind the name. A strictly linguistic analysis of the poems of Sulpicia clearly demonstrates a great preoccupation for form and a considerable mastery of technique, which leave without foundation the supposed simplicity, candour and spontaneity that critics have traditionally seen in them.

La traduzione di un brano è una delle attività in grado di permettere contemporaneamente l’esercizio delle competenze di comprensione e interpretazione del testo e la verifica dell’acquisizione di conoscenze di cultura e grammatica. Per facilitare il lavoro dei docenti, molte case editrici mettono a disposizione piattaforme e-learning ricche di esercizi e versioni guidate, il cui accesso è in genere vincolato all’adozione di un determinato libro di testo o al pagamento di un abbonamento. Nonostante la presenza di risorse di questo genere - tra le quali un’eccellenza: Alatin - riteniamo ancora utile indirizzare i docenti verso una personalizzazione dei propri strumenti didattici. Si tratterebbe, infatti, di un importante passo per permettere loro di riscoprire quella creatività che i numerosi impegni scolastici e gli adempimenti burocratici inevitabilmente appiattiscono.
Il contributo illustra le fasi di progettazione di una traduzione guidata di una poesia di Sulpicia e ne propone la realizzazione attraverso il modulo quiz di Moodle.

In the European tradition, a translator of Classical verse relies on historical, archaeological and literary evidence as a biographical guide. However, with Sulpicia, the only extant female poet of Augustan Rome, we have no extra-textual biographical information, and philologists, literary critics, and commentators alike have rallied to the question 'Who is Sulpicia'? by representing Sulpicia's corpus in multiplicitous, conflicting ways. Mathilde Skoie's Reading Sulpicia demonstrates the inherent hermeneutic nature of commentaries operative in differing interpretive communities by highlighting the modes of reading Sulpicia's poems (Corpus Tibullianum 3.13-18) 'in order to display interpretive strategies at play.' As a translator, my approach to Sulpicia is deeply influenced by this mode, and the hermeneutic nature of commentaries extends to my translation. This paper will show that translation, like commentary, is shaped by interpretive method. But, unlike a commentary, the hermeneutic choices facing any 'authorial' translator must extend into more difficult terrain than just message. Sulpicia's poems are a case in point where an 'authorial' translator must recreate aspects such as voice, which is often supplemented by biography. Because each translator's answer to 'Who is Sulpicia'? determines how Sulpicia's corpus is represented, the primary concern of this paper is with the polyvocalic quality articulated by literary criticism and commentary, and the implications for a translator responsible to intersubjective voices. Sulpicia's voice is intersubjective rather than strictly historical. Instead of concluding that Sulpicia's poems adhere to a single conjecture from among the determined suppositions, this paper will consider Sulpicia's poetry as an echo. Adrienne Ho holds an MFA in Literary Translation from the University of Iowa, where she is a doctoral candidate in Comparative Literature. She is a poet and a translator of Latin and Classical Chinese, and her work appears in US and Canadian journals, including Arc, Burnside Review, Circumference, Denver Quarterly, The Malahat Review, 91st Meridian, and Ninth Letter. From 2002-04, she was co-publisher of Delirium Press, a small broadside press based in Montreal, Canada, featuring limited edition prints of original poetry and visual work by local artists.

A serious spoof.  Its purpose is to test the validity of certain types of arguments, statements, and readings commonly applied to Sulpicia, by seeing if they would hold water if applied to any other poet, say, Catullus.  The article is written in the spirit of Douglas Young's famous 1959 spoof, which used Denys Page's statistical methods to "prove" conclusively that a "Deutero-Milton" was responsible for Paradise Regained, or Dorothes Wender's demonstration that George Washington was merely a euhemerized culture hero.

Sulpicia's poetry is the site of a woman's struggle for self-expression in an androcentric genre. The so-called "Garland poet" turns her values against her in the process of writing his "Sulpicia," a brief collection in which she becomes the puella of elegy. The order of the poems in the Tibullan mss. gives priority to the "Garland" and the final poems may be read as an editorial comment on the success of "Elegy."

The poems of the Sulpician cycle, included at the end of the third book of the Corpus Tibullianum, remain a matter of discussion today. There are those who claim that it is the only testimony of feminine writing from the Late Republic and, on the other hand, those who prefer to deem them the work of a male poet who assumes, like Propertius and Ovid did before, a feminine persona. This paper analyzes sorne traits existing in Sulpicia's poetry concerning the space of the Roman woman and her activity, in order to contribute to the hypothesis of feminine authorship (Parker, 1994; Stevenson, 2005). It is centered in the examination of carmen 111. 9, but it also establishes significant relationships within the rest of the cycle and the texts of her Greek and Latin precedents and contemporaries, which expose sorne characteristic outlines of feminine writing.