Juvenal Satire 7 Commentary

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Juvenal Satire 7:69-104. A Commentary Within Juvenal’s Satires as a whole, in Satire 7 we can see evidence of a slight but marked change of tone. The language appears less vicious and brutal than some of his previous Satires, and the overall approach seems altogether more measured. It is unclear why this should be so, perhaps it is down to a change in his personal circumstances for the better,[1] or perhaps his style has just mellowed over time; vitriol surely must get exhausting. The first thirty five lines of Satire 7 are in contrast to the rest of the poem, where for the first time Juvenal talks about an Emperor in almost complimentary terms. It is probable that the Emperor in question was Hadrian, the first ruler since Claudius to take an active interest in literature, even writing poetry himself[2]. These introductory lines, markedly different to the passage for comment, seem to have been added later[3]- either as a genuine compliment and gesture of respect, or perhaps just as an ironic statement in response to the accession of a new Emperor; maybe it is more sarcastic in tone than it would seem on first glance- akin to a panellist on a weekly political satire show saying, “Well obviously everything is going to be alright now, David Cameron is Prime Minister; nothing can go wrong,” cue lots of laughter and the rolling of eyes. The rest of Satire 7 is a scathing condemnation of the miserly behaviour of patrons, part of a wider and familiar theme in Juvenal- the criticism of warped and hypocritical economic values among the Roman elite. Similar sentiments are evident in many of Juvenal’s other Satires, particularly 1 and 5. Many professions are taken into account in this poem, and their impoverished plights at the hands of their patrons empathised with, but it is lines 69 – 104 that pertain to the experiences of a poet at the time of writing, and
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