Ia. 3-5 secondary sources or theoretical works
Fulton, Helen. “Origins and Introductions: Troy and Rome in Medieval British and Irish Writing” in Celts, Romans, Britons: Classical and Celtic Influence in the Construction of British Identities, edited by Francesca Kaminski-Jones and Rhys Kaminski-Jones, Classical Presences, Oxford, 2020.
Hardie, Philip. The Last Trojan Hero: A Cultural History of Virgil’s Aeneid, London, I.B. Tauris, 2014.
Quint, David. Epic and Empire: Politics and Generic Form from Virgil to Milton. Princeton University Press, 2021.
Rajsic, Jaclyn. “The Brut: Legendary British History” in Medieval Historical Writing: Britain and Ireland, 500–1500; edited by Jennifer Jahner, Emily Steiner, and Elizabeth M. Tyler, pp. 67-84, 2019.
Alexandra, Kate. “The Problem with Greek Myth Retellings.” Youtube, 24 April 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tL3Pbc_zhU&t=3s.
Carson, Anne. “Introduction: Elektra.” An Oresteia. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009, pp. 77-83.
Porter, James I. “Reception Studies: Future Prospects.” A Companion to Classical Receptions, edited by Lorna Hardwick and Christopher Stray, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2008.
Rich, Adrienne. “When We Dead Awaken: Writing as Re-Vision.” On Lies, Secrets, and Silence, Norton, 1995, pp. 33-49.
Spacciante, Valeria. “Circe, the female hero. First person narrative and power in Madeline Miller’s Circe.” Classical Receptions Journal, vol. 16, 2024, Oxford University Press, pp. 405-418.
Suzuki, Mihoko. “Rewriting the ‘Odyssey’ in the Twenty-First Century: Mary Zimmerman’s ‘Odyssey’ and Margaret Atwood’s ‘Penelopiad.’” College Literature, vol. 34, no. 2, 2007, pp. 263–78.
Szmigiero, Katarzyna. “Reflexivity and New Metanarratives. Contemporary English-language Retellings of Classical Mythology.” Discourses on Culture, vol. 20, no. 1, Dec. 2023, pp. 85-108.
Tatum, James. “A Real Short Introduction to Classical Reception Theory.” A Journal of Humanities and the Classics, vol. 22, no. 2, Fall 2014, Trustees of Boston University, pp. 75-96.
Zajko, Vanda. “‘What Difference Was Made?’: Feminist Models of Reception.” A Companion to Classical Receptions, edited by Lorna Hardwick and Christopher Stray, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2008.
Ib. Primary sources
Aeschylus. The Oresteia. Translated by Ted Huge, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2004.
Atwood, Margaret. The Penelopiad. Canongate Books, 2018.
Barker, Pat. The Voyage Home. Penguin Books, 2024.
Casati, Costanza. Clytemnestra. Sourcebooks Landmark, 2023.
Haynes, Natalie. A Thousand Ships. Harper Collins, 2021.
Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by Emily Wilson, W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.
Saint, Jennifer. Elektra. Flatiron Books, 2022.
II. One academic journal
Journal Vergilius, published by The Vergilian Society. Accessed at https://www-jstororg.dickinson.idm.oclc.org/journal/vergilius1959
Classical Receptions Journal, published by Oxford University Press.
* I checked the 2019-2024 issues, found only a few articles that were relevant *
Helios, published by Texas Tech University Press.
III. 1-3 key words
epic, heroes, translatio imperii
Reception/adaptation theory, retelling, feminism
IV. Accompanying essay
For my thesis, I want to focus on how literature has shaped empires, specifically how many empires have established a Trojan descendance to create a national identity that’s based on a manipulated mythos. By hijacking this story of the Trojan War and manipulating it to their literary needs, authors have made these historical losers into the fathers of empire, whether the Romans, English, or Franks. Right now, my ideas and choices for primary texts are a bit far reaching, so I’d like to explore options and narrow down to what provides the most for close reading.
In most cases, the Trojan ancestor is a refugee, fleeing from the fall of Troy and looking to establish a new home, a new Troy. The ancestor is usually a heroic figure (like Aeneas or Brutus) and has a clear value and moral system that reflects what is important to each culture. Furthermore, it may be interesting to see how these texts juxtapose the Trojan hero and his values with the ‘local’ peoples as a way to justify further colonization and empire. Right now, all I know is I want to look at these stories and their connection to Troy and understand why authors did this, and the impact it had on the larger conception of each ‘nation.’
For this reading list, I first spoke with Professor Mastrangelo. We mainly talked about The Aeneid, but he recommended two secondary texts of scholarship (Philip Hardie and David Quint) that explore how epic and empire are intertwined. Understandably, we mostly talked about The Aeneid and the ways it works to make Aeneas the model Roman, as well as someone quintessentially non-Greek. I then spoke with Professor Kersh to confirm that this was a good route of inquiry, and I finally spoke with Professor Skalak, who really pushed me in the medieval route and introduced me to the term translatio imperii, or the medieval concept that the authority of empires is translated from one to another, creating a sort of lineage for the transfer of power.
I originally thought of exploring the Brutus story in Geoffrey of Monmouth, but Professor Skalak recommended Layamon’s Brut, which is an English version of the story. I’m having trouble finding a translation of it from Middle English, but I put an academic article about it on my list to learn more. She also recommended looking at ‘Trojan sections’ of Gawain and the Green Knight and Le Morte D’Arthur, which were highly influential in the period. I’m hoping to get a more basic overview of the period and then decide where to dive in.
My main questions will be: What was translatio imperii? How popular and influential was the idea? Why was Troy chosen specifically as the ‘original’ empire? Why make the ‘losers’ into your ancestors? How did having precedent/ancestry give authority to an empire? What’s the significance of this ‘national literature’ making these connections?
UPDATE:
After some research and realizing my original topic was too large and history-based for this thesis, I have switched my topic to modern feminist mythology retellings. In particular, I have narrowed my scope to one mythological story that includes and highlights multiple women: the Clytemnestra saga, which includes Cassandra and her daughter Elektra and can connect to her cousin Penelope and sister Helen. The texts I have chosen center one of each of these women as the protagonist. This family of women from the time of the Trojan War have been revisited in modern retellings, and I want to know why. Why does the 21st century have an interest in putting previously marginal female characters into the spotlight, and what do they use these myths to say/reflect on in our own society?
My plan is to approach these texts and see how accurately and humanly they present these tales: are they anachronistic? Do the women act simply as mouthpieces for modern thought? Are certain women villainized while others revered? What ‘type’ of woman is seen by a modern audience as worthy of a voice? Are these tales really ‘feminist’? Furthermore, I want to explore how texts within the same mythological corpus interact with each other: does one portray Cassandra as insane and another as tragic? Is Clytemnestra a complex, understandable character or simply a crazy murder? Is Helen the slut who destroyed Troy or a woman filled with regret? I definitely want to explore the nuances within these texts, both ancient and modern.