Dissidence and Literature Under Nero: The Price of Rhetoricization

This work examines the impact of dissident sensibilities on the writings of the major Neronian authors. It offers a detailed and innovative analysis of essays, poetry and fiction written by Seneca, Lucan and Petronius, and illuminates their psychological and moral anguish. The study is intended as a companion volume to Rudich's earlier work,Political Dissidence under Nero, where he discussed the ways in which "dissident sensibilities" of the Neronians affected their actual behavior. This work extends this analysis to show how the same sensibilities became manifest in the texts written by the Neronian authors.