My research examines Lucan’s Pharsalia. I am exploring how Lucan’s language is indebted to and interacts with Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura both directly and indirectly. I hope to illustrate how Lucan’s text is thematically, tonally, and intellectually situated within philosophical and poetic traditions that have been shaped by Lucretius’ work. Through my analysis, I hope to show that Lucan is portraying the Civil War as an apocalyptic event that has the potential to mark a new beginning to the world.
