Parody and Intertextuality: The Ovidian Epyllia

Parody only functions successfully if the parodic text’s audience is aware of what is being parodied. Thus, the intertextual relationship is paramount, as is the audience’s role in the creation of meaning (as argued in post-structuralist and intertextual theory, especially by Barthes). This is explored in this chapter via the analysis of the epyllia (erotic, comic, narrative poems on mythological subjects). It covers the theoretical understanding of parody and the close relationship between parody and intertextuality. Analysis of various epyllia demonstrates how an intertextual approach is crucial to understanding the production and consumption of these texts, and how the genre itself works as a system of meaning which is endlessly self-referential and parodic, as well as heavily invested in rejecting previous Petrarchan literary conventions.