Propertius

by Margaret Hubbard

Propertius' four books of love-elegies (c. 32-12 B.C.) were produced during the heyday of Augustan literature. His poetry has been noted by modern critics for its striking forms of expression, sometimes tortured syntax, sudden transitions and abstruse allusiveness. Much of this "difficulty", Hubbard argues, may stem as much from the many impenetrable corruptions in our surviving, comparatively late manuscripts as from Propertius himself. For ancient critics, in contrast with the modern, read him as polished, elegant and amusing. This book presents a Propertius along these latter lines.The four central chapters of this volume deal broadly with the four books, but at the same time raise general issues, such as the unity of Propertius' oeuvre, or his self-acknowledged indebtedness to Callimachus. Throughout Hubbard analyses in detail both extended and shorter passages which are always given in both the original and in a no-nonsense prose translation. There emerges a reading of the poet which renders him immediately accessible to student and general reader, while providing insights equally challenging for specialists.

182 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Caracalla · Rating 3 out of 5]

An older style of criticism, very evaluative; if Hubbard thinks a poem is boring, she'll take it upon herself to say. I must say I was unfamiliar with Propertius, his reference points in earlier Greek literature and the general tenor of his project after the Monobiblos so if this book covers obvious or now well established critical ground it was not particularly clear to me. Love elegy evolves a lot in the Augustan period from the exciting and often earthily primitive stuff Catullus produces to this stuff which is more consciously figured and makes more of its Hellenic sophistication to Ovidian elegy (which my tutor considers the final and most sophisticated form of Latin love elegy but could equally be seen as a more confidently ironical take on it, that perhaps recognizes the redundancy of this form in Augustan Rome). I find readings of this sort pretty interesting although maybe they're not very fashionable; to dismiss the love elegy of Prop.III as tired and evidence for Propertius searching for a new strategy wouldn't be acceptable for a Postmodern critic maybe but I certainly sympathize. Eventually, Propertius starts doing something much closer to Callimachus' Aetia in IV (which I'm going to be studying now for my degree, hooray) and it's up to Ovid to continue elegy doing stuff like didactic, a direction Propertius flippantly hints in III somewhere. Nicely written but definitely not cutting edge.