Berkeley Undergraduate Journal

In this paper, I explore how the Latin poet Horace uses and transforms landscape in order to establish his poetic autobiography. This is accomplished through a close reading of Odes 3.13, O Fons Bandusiae. The facets of this particular landscape that are highlighted through Horace’s poetry reflect the way the poet sees the world and his place in it. By manipulating the aesthetic and temporal qualities of the scene, Horace transforms it into a poetic landscape, one that cannot exist outside this particular poem. In this way, Horace asserts several facets of his poetic identity and demonstrates his poetic prowess, claiming his place in the canon of Greek and Latin lyric poets.