Burning Hearts
Christian Poetry and the Language of Emotions in Late Antiquity
Can the language of erotic desire become a vehicle for Christian devotion? This project argues that it can 鈥 and that late antique Christian poets consciously employed this strategy.
My research project, 鈥淐hristian Poetry and the Language of Emotions in Late Antiquity鈥, investigates how late antique Christian poets rework classical poetic motifs to create embodied, emotional expressions of deep spiritual commitment (the 鈥渞adical habits of the heart鈥). Focusing primarily on Greek poetry (Gregory of Nazianzus, Eudocia Augusta, Nonnus of Panopolis), with comparative references to Latin texts, the project examines how metaphors of desire, sweetness, and bodily longing are redirected toward God to cultivate and sustain devotion within religious communities.
The project challenges the traditional opposition between Greek eros and Christian agape by analysing works like Eudocia鈥檚 St. Cyprian, where erotic language is used to portray various forms of love, including Christian devotion. It pays special attention to metaphors involving internal organs (such as the heart and throat) as vehicles for expressing religious emotions.
Key research questions explore how Christian poets appropriate classical love poetry鈥檚 language and imagery to express spiritual yearning, the role of sensory and affective imagery in articulating the soul鈥檚 relationship to Christ, intertextual influences from classical authors, the function of these texts in fostering communal religious commitment, and the broader impact on late antique religious aesthetics and anthropology.
The project fills a scholarly gap by applying forward-oriented philology and the aesthetics of religion to late antique Christian poetry, an area traditionally dominated by theological or linguistic analysis. It posits that bodily and emotional desire are central to mediating religious experience, with poetic form acting as a tool to embody and sustain devotion.
Overall, the study aims to show how poetic language transforms desire into a divine force, contributing to a deeper understanding of late antique Christian devotion as an embodied, affective experience.