Latin literary translation in the late Roman Republic

Translation has been a part of Latin literature since its beginning with the Odusia of Livius Andronicus. Throughout the late Roman Republic literary translators – those translators who aim at creating innovative pieces of literature rather than following their source texts verbatim – develop their art and a variety of techniques for appropriating Greek poetry. This study shows that each Latin literary translator draws on their predecessors and finds unique solutions to their individual problems. It demonstrates that each translator also adapts their source texts in different ways according to their periods, genres, styles, and purposes. It looks at the ancient terminology, theory, and practice of translation and shows that, while there is no consistent vocabulary or system of translation in Rome, literary translation is nevertheless highly-developed and subtle throughout the Republic. It examines the translations of the Preneoteric translators Quintus Lutatius Catulus and Gnaeus Matius, Cicero and Varro Atacinus, and Catullus

Catullus and Roman Dramatic Literature

This dissertation examines how Roman drama, and Roman Comedy in particular, informs the poetry of Catullus. It argues that Latin drama continued to play a significant role in Roman thought and literature after the second century BCE and offered a shared cultural vocabulary through which authors could communicate private ideas about love, friendship, and rivalry. It argues that many of Catullus's poems contain meaningful intertextual allusions to Roman Comedy whose presence contributes additional layers of complexity to his work. It also argues that reading Catullus with an eye towards theatricality and performativity reveals new ways in which his poetry can be understood, from both ancient and modern perspectives. Chapter One outlines evidence for ongoing interest in the Roman stage in the first century BCE, including scholarly and antiquarian study, large scale public performance, and private entertainment at aristocratic dinner parties and literary recitations. Chapter Two examines Catullus's engagement with Plautus and Terence in his erotic epigrams and argues that the Catullan speaker consistently invokes the figure of the young lover from Roman Comedy. It considers how early Latin epigrammatists like Q. Lutatius Catulus drew on the language and themes of comedy to modify Alexandrian epigram and argues that Catullus continued this tradition of blending drama and subjective poetry. It also explores how Catullus creates a unified speaker across separate poems through divided allusions to the opening of Terence's Eunuchus. Chapter Three examines how the Plautine servus callidus functions throughout Catullus's polymetrics in poems of erotic, social, and literary rivalry. It argues that Catullus alludes to stock routines from Plautus's comedies to ridicule traditional power structures and elevates Plautine malitia, Heroic Badness, as a vehicle for asserting dominance over others. Chapter Four approaches Catullus's poetry as literature for performance, studying how dramatic elements in his work can affect its reception, especially in the context of Roman convivia and recitationes. Using theater semiotics and reader response theory, it examines how poem 8 creates open spaces for readers to fill. It also argues that allusions to Roman Comedy in poem 8 create a palimpsestuous text that constantly shifts and enables multiple readings

Uncovering and Interpreting

Student projects: two upper-level, and two student solutions to the same project, the Bayer Stone Competition

Can Amphipathic Helices Influence the CNS Antinociceptive Activity of Glycopeptides Related to β‑Endorphin?

Glycosylated β-endorphin analogues of various amphipathicity were studied in vitro and in vivo in mice. Opioid binding affinities of the O-linked glycopeptides (mono- or disaccharides) and unglycosylated peptide controls were measured in human receptors expressed in CHO cells. All were pan-agonists, binding to μ-, δ-, or κ-opioid receptors in the low nanomolar range (2.2–35 nM <i>K</i>_i’s). The glycoside moiety was required for intravenous (i.v.) but not for intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) activity. Circular dichroism and NMR indicated the degree of helicity in H₂O, aqueous trifluoroethanol, or micelles. Glycosylation was essential for activity after i.v. administration. It was possible to manipulate the degree of helicity by the alteration of only two amino acid residues in the helical <i>address</i> region of the β-endorphin analogues without destroying μ-, δ-, or κ-agonism, but the antinociceptive activity after i.v. administration could not be directly correlated to the degree of helicity in micelles

Structural Requirements for CNS Active Opioid Glycopeptides

Glycopeptides related to β-endorphin penetrate the blood–brain barrier (BBB) of mice to produce antinociception. Two series of glycopeptides were assessed for opioid receptor binding affinity. Attempts to alter the mu-selectivity of [d-Ala²,<i>N</i>-MePhe⁴,Gly-ol⁵]­enkephalin (DAMGO)-related glycopeptides by altering the charged residues of the amphipathic helical address were unsuccessful. A series of pan-agonists was evaluated for antinociceptive activity (55 °C tail flick) in mice. A flexible linker was required to maintain antinociceptive activity. Circular dichroism (CD) in H₂O, trifluoroethanol (TFE), and SDS micelles confirmed the importance of the amphipathic helices (<b>11s</b> → <b>11sG</b> → <b>11</b>) for antinociception. The glycosylated analogues showed only nascent helices and random coil conformations in H₂O. Chemical shift indices (CSI) and nuclear Overhauser effects (NOE) with 600 MHz NMR and CD confirmed helical structures in micelles, which were rationalized by molecular dynamics calculations. Antinociceptive studies with mice confirm that these glycosylated endorphin analogues are potential drug candidates that penetrate the BBB to produce potent central effects