... Petronius, in writing these texts. However, in an essay of this length it would be foolish to recount all the various arguments on this issue whilst attempting to examine all the literary reference alluded to in the two novels. Rather I shall examine the role that the literary texture of the novels plays in helping to define our interpretation of the authors' objectives, and the methods that they used to achieve them. Petronius was almost certainly writing for comic effect, and his references would have been designed to evoke a feeling of amusement from the reader. As Keith Preston observes, nowhere else in Latin literature is such a premium put on laughter1, and the keynote of the text is struck in chapter 19, when "The entire place resounded with the laughter of the low stage." [Sat 19]. Although scholars have disputed the exact nature of the original literary predecessors Petronius ...

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