Rhetoric and epistolary exchange in Ovid's 'Heroides' 16--21 (Roman Empire)

This dissertation examines the ways Heroides 16-21 are informed by and participate in rhetorical discourse, using the epistolary form to foreground issues of literary exchange and verbal communication. I explore the ways Ovid combines explicitly rhetorical models with elements of epic, tragedy, and especially elegy to construct persuasive poems that exploit the productive intersection of these discursive modes. The first chapter examines the relationship between rhetoric and poetry; I look at Ovid's Ars Amatoria in relation to Cicero's De Oratore and other rhetorical works and suggest a close relationship between amatory seduction and forensic persuasion. This comparison reveals the mechanics of seduction and suggests ways the mythical writers of the Heroides are engaging not only with the seductive language and techniques that define elegy but also with the larger field of rhetoric. The second chapter argues that the exchange of Paris and Helen, Her. 16-17, demonstrates the techniques of elegiac seduction. I suggest that as these letters engage the question of Helen's agency in her departure to Troy, they posit an overlap between the forces of persuasion, violence, and sexual passion. The third chapter argues that the exchange of Hero and Leander, Her. 18-19, grounds both the dynamics of epistolary exchange and the language and themes of elegy in the physical circumstances that define their relationship. I suggest that in these poems, Ovid is positing an intrinsic connection between letters and elegy. The fourth chapter argues that the letters of Acontius and Cydippe, Her. 20-21, demonstrate the ways language can be used to exert control over the world. Ovid takes advantage of a mythical situation that highlights the effective potential of writing to explore the performative power of language.