Dr Katharine Earnshaw
Dr Katharine Earnshaw
Supernumerary Teaching Fellow in Classical Language and Literature
Email: Dr Katharine Earnshaw
Research Interests
My primary area of research is in Latin epic poetry of the imperial period, particularly the Pharsalia of Lucan. My doctoral thesis comprised a commentary on a section of book IV of Lucan’s poem, and combined a traditional commentary format with extended discursive sections on the relationship between epic and historiography, ‘didactic’ poetry, and love elegy. This project is being developed into a full commentary on the whole book; it has also prompted a particular interest in the relationship between ‘didactic’ texts and Latin epic, and I am currently exploring (for example) the use and abuse of Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura and Virgil’s Georgics within the Pharsalia. I am fascinated by the question of Lucan’s ‘epicness’; in particular, his position as both inheritor of Virgil and Ovid’s style of multi-layered epic, and as an author pushing the boundaries of epic poetics.
In addition, I am currently working on a monograph on the reception of Lucan and his poem throughout the long 18th century. The book charts the presence of the Pharsalia in the artistic culture of England during this period, and deliberately cuts across different literature and art of the period in an attempt to demonstrate a creative interconnection, and to stimulate new readings of Lucan’s text by outlining past receptions. My research on classical reception in art has already led to my working collaboratively with various art galleries and I am keen to establish further such links.
Teaching
Latin and Greek literature options for Mods and Greats (especially poetry of the imperial period); Latin and Greek language.
