A Wor(l)d beside Itself: Exploring and Experiencing the Uncanny in Lucan'sBellum Civile

Abstract

This article examines the Bellum Civile's presentation and provocation of experiences that we might now consider to be uncanny. The first section offers an overview of the uncanny from psychoanalysis to literary and aesthetic criticism and outlines the framework through which I will approach the Bellum Civile's uncanny elements. The second section discusses how we may use this model of the uncanny to explore how Lucan represents his internal characters' incomprehension, confusion, and a lack of physical mastery when faced with the reality of civil war. The final section will consider how these uncanny experiences are projected beyond the page through the metonymic use of nefas (crime/horror), Lucan's overarching civil war signifier.