Dissidence and Literature Under Nero

This work inquires into the impact of dissident sensibilities on the writings of the major Neroian 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 Vasily Rudich's earlier work Political Dissidence under Nero: The Price of Dissimulation , where he discussed the ways in which 'dissident sensibilities' of the Neronians affected their actual behaviour. Dissidence and Literature under Nero extends this analysis to show how the same sensibilities became manifest in the texts written by the Neronian authors. It explores the pressures on authors who strive to maintain their artistic integrity under a repressive regime. The author argues that Imperial Roman society may well be compared with our own, in that both may be described as experiencing crises of the inherited set of values. This argument may be seen to suggest affinities between the predicament of a Neronian dissident and the postmodern intellectual. It will interest professional classicists and the wider audience concerned with the ongoing debate on the benefits and perils of rhetorical discourse.