Sanitizing the Satirist

Abstract

This article offers a critique of a popular application of the persona theory, particularly as applied to Juvenal, by challenging the grounds upon which the satirist’s moralizing purpose is called into question. The implications of this theory present a central problem of efficacy in the interpretation of Juvenal’s early satires, since it presents the satirist as intent on undermining any didactic stance he has made. This leaves us with an unsatisfactory conclusion that excises Juvenal’s persistent treatment of themes consistent with contemporaneous authors who were similarly engaged in blackening the reputation of the famous dead.