Hell is other poets: Tibullus, Ovid and Statius in queer Elysium

Abstract The Underworld is a ‘shared space’ for poets and their poems, but one that exists on different timelines to Upperworld spaces, such that it is built on cyclicality rather than linearity. In this article, I explore the cycles within and between the homoerotic Underworld poetry of Tibullus, Domitius Marsus, Ovid and Statius. Using a combination of traditional philology and queer temporal approaches, I show how characters ‘recycle’ through these texts, so that Tibullus’ Marathus cycles into Statius’ Philetus through metapoetic metempsychosis. I begin with the role of the Underworld in Latin poetry, before turning to Tibullus’ death, as commemorated by Ovid and Marsus. Next, I explore how Tibullus ‘kills’ Marathus, so that Ovid can hint at his being in the Underworld. Finally, I turn to Statius’ poem on Philetus to show how it continues the cycles of earlier poetry, before concluding with a discussion of the consequences of Elysium’s queerness.