Propertius: Elegies Book IV

Description

Propertius' fourth book is his most challenging and innovative. It disrupts genre; dislocates time and order; and meditates on gender, perception and history. A sort of postmodernism combines with narrative and structural verve, incisively physical writing and a gallery of colourful characters. This edition makes a demanding and rewarding text more accessible and more intelligible. The text is new; help and fresh ideas are offered on the text and meaning of words. A wide range of literary, inscriptional and archaeological material is used to illuminate this many-sided poetry. Much more space is given than in previous editions to literary interpretation and historical contextualization, in the light of modern work. The book is approached as a dynamic sequence of poems rather than a collection. The edition should be valuable to both students and scholars.

Gregory Hutchinson is Professor of Greek and Latin Languages and Literature at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Exeter College. His most recent publications include Cicero's Correspondence: A Literary Study (1998) and Greek Lyric Poetry (2001).

'Hutchinson gives us a tightly written account of the important issues in the last book, laying out with impressive brevity in his introduction the connections between the book and its predecessors ... this is a splendid example of the benefits of the detailed commentary as a genre.' The Times Literary Supplement 'Hutchinson's commentary offers a wealth of information on everything the reader needs for getting some grip on Propertius' intricate Latin and what he, probably or at least possibly, intends to express ... Both Gregory Hutchinson and his readers deserve to be congratulated for this book, which honours the eminent scholar to whose memory it has been dedicated, Oliver Lyne.' Mnemosyne '... this new edition and commentary of Book IV is most welcome: it does not only form an introduction to Propertius' last collection, but should also stimulate reflection on the text and permit well-informed interpretations. ... dedicated to the late Professor R.O.A.M. Lyne ... there is no doubt that he would have been deeply pleased with such a remarkable tribute.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review