Tibullus: A Commentary

michael c.j. putnam

The work of the Latin elegiac poet Tibullus (c. 55-19 b.c.) is characterized by an artful, witty "simplicity," and it relies on repetition, ambiguity, irony, and paradox for its effect. His poetry appealed to his countrymen in his own time, as it still does to students today, and this textbook is designed to explain and enhance that appeal.

The commentary presented here is limited to the sixteen poems which comprise the first two books of the corpus Tibullianum, that is, to poems authentically by Tibullus. The notes focus on the needs of students approaching Latin elegy for the first time, but they will also prove useful to the more experienced student of Latin or to scholars in other languages. The editor has tried to balance matters of fact with occasional fresh interpretations. One introduction records what is known of the poet’s life and discusses the rise of Latin elegy. The meter of the poems is explained, and Tibullus’ style is examined.

Genres classics

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1973

This edition

Format: 222 pages, Paperback
Published: November 15, 1979 by University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 9780806115603
ASIN: 0806115602
Language: English

About the author

michael c.j. putnam

Michael Courtney Jenkins Putnam is an American classicist specializing in Latin literature, but has also studied literature written in many other languages. Putnam has been particularly influential in his publications concerning Virgil‘s ‘'Aeneid‘'. He is the son of politician and businessman Roger Putnam. Putnam received his B.A., M.A., and Ph. D. from Harvard. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1959 he taught at Smith College for a year. He then moved on to teach at Brown University and served as W. Duncan MacMillan II Professor of Classics and a professor of comparative literature for 48 years before retiring in 2008. He was awarded the 1963 Rome Prize, and was later a Resident (1970) and Mellon Professor in Charge of the Classical School (1989-91). He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1996 and the American Philosophical Society in 1998.
He served as sole trustee of Lowell Observatory from 1967 to 1987. Asteroid 2557 Putnam was named in his and his father's honor. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 8 April 1982 (M.P.C. 6835).