I.B. Tauris (2015) p/b 174pp £12.99 (ISBN 9781780766379)
This contribution to the ‘Understanding Classics’ series is a short introduction to the study of Martial’s epigrams. Watson and Watson’s (WW) method is to offer closely argued readings of over seventy of the shorter poems, each accompanied by an English prose translation. Some indication of the metre of each poem would have helped the reader to appreciate more readily Martial’s snappy rhythms.
Their prose translations, which greatly help the reader’s literal understanding of the texts, make full use of a wide range of English obscenities. This feature of his verse is one characteristic they discuss as a barrier to the appreciation of Martial in past eras, but they assume that no such barrier exists today, observing that a proper understanding of Martial’s use of obscenities was not possible before the 1980s. However, the book should come (as does Martial himself) with a parental advisory ‘explicit content’ sticker.
Chapter one makes the case for ‘Why read Martial?’ in the course of detailed discussion of epigrams which show how Martial can be a source for the social history of Rome in the 1st century BC. While WW rightly warn against too literal a reading of Martial, who was not writing social history, themes of patronage and class are identified as well as more mundane activities such as baths and dinner parties. As well as his obscenity, they deal in depth with the view that he flatters the emperor too much, is too materialistic, and his work requires a sound knowledge of Roman social history.
The central discussion is contained in the next two chapters on his humour and the other characteristic elements of his work. Here representative poems are given full close readings to draw out the essential elements of Martial’s oeuvre. WW value Martial’s humour for its sardonic wit and point, its wordplay, and its brevity. The most common technique they identify is the surprise or paradoxical conclusion, like the perfect placing of tuos in 7.3 (about the awful poet who always asks Martial for a copy of his books). They analyse a number of riddling epigrams which are difficult for modern readers to work out (one of my old teaching advisers used to talk of ‘solving’ an epigram, like an equation) and wonder if this is not actually intentional on Martial’s part. The paradox is the point.
Chapter five on reception and scholarship is perhaps the most interesting section, going well beyond the format of the short introduction into a survey of recent interpretations and the development of Martial studies in the past few decades. The crisp and concise discussion gives an excellent summary of the state of play of current scholarship.
A diverting selection of poems influenced by Martial and a number of recent versions conclude the book. These give a vivid picture of the wit and technical verve that poets can deliver in their snappy and clever versions of Martial up to the present day. Highly recommended for those coming to Martial in Latin for the first time, but with a health warning for younger readers.
John Bulwer