#wrt the aeneid (and also the pharsalia but mostly aeneid uh. 8?)

[catilinas]

i love it when authors are like. well yeah this character doesn’t realise they’re in a narrative but they are aware of a narrative and it’s a specific text which you the reader may have also read and also they have Fatally Misread It

#this needs more thought but i’m lazy. but i’m thinking about a) caesar in pharsalia book 9 #wrt the aeneid (and also the pharsalia but mostly aeneid uh. 8?) #(which is extra fun because of course the aeneid hadn’t been written yet) #and b) plutarch writing about cato reading through the phaedo. twice #not even caesar could find an escape route #beeps