Chapter 1 - Hybrid Ennius: Cultural and Poetic Multiplicity in the Annals

Summary

This paper argues that hybrid and otherwise multiple or excessive bodies are central to the creation of Ennius’ persona in the Annals. My discussion focuses on three significant figures: the peacock in Book 1, Discordia in Book 7, and the poet’s failing body in Book 16. I argue that Ennius conspicuously associates himself with both Discordia and the peacock. These figures symbolize generic hybridity and stylistic multiplicity or poikilia, aspects of the Annals that later writers tend to suppress. The emphasis on the poet’s physical deterioration in Book 16 forms an important contrast: as Ennius’ body dissolves, his soul prepares to find a new home in the literary bodies of subsequent writers. We should read all of this Ennian multiplicity from a cultural perspective: to be Roman is always to be already a hybrid. Ennius embraces this reality at key moments in the Annals, which forces a reconsideration of the overall tone of the poem and the broader trajectory of Roman epic.