Since 2014 I am working on a PhD project entitled “Mirroring texts: embedded narratives in the Flavian epic”. In this dissertation I explore the role of embedded narratives in three epics from the Flavian era: Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica, Statius’ Thebaid and Silius Italicus’ Punica. I am trying to uncover the relations of these narratives with the main narrative, often signaled by subtle verbal repetitions and thematic similarities, and what these relations mean for the interpretation of the narratives themselves and the epic as a whole. Models from earlier literature also play an important role. The combination of an intratextual, intertextual and narratological approach helps to understand the complexity of these embedded narratives.
Irene de Jong and Mark Heerink are the supervisors of this project. My project is funded by an NWO Doctoral Grant for Teachers.