Laronia canens... questioni di poetica e ideologia nella seconda satira di Giovenale

In lines 38–63 of Satire II, Juvenal subverts the conventions of the satirical genre by granting the floor to a female speaker, Laronia, who, in a biting invective, unmasks male hypocrisy and exposes the sexual perversions of the molles. This article undertakes a close reading of these lines with the aim of elucidating the motives that led the poet to employ such a literary strategy, as well as the deeper significance of Laronia’s speech in shaping a satire that functions as an uncompromising indictment of the Roman ruling class and its immoral conduct. Furthermore, it highlights certain points of poetic and ideological continuity that link this work to Juvenal’s third and sixth satires.