Tibullus: Elegies. Text, Introduction and Commentary by Robert Maltby (ARCA, Classical and Medieval Texts, Papers and Monographs)

A new edition of the Augustan poet Albius Tibullus and a major commentary by Robert Maltby, the first in English since K F Smith (1913) to treat Tibullus' entire oeuvre within a single cover. It takes full account of up-to-date scholarship on this learned, elegant and, until recently, much underestimated poet. The text is based on that of A G Lee (1990), variations from which are listed at the end and discussed in the notes. The Introduction includes a short history of the text and an assessment of recent Tibullan scholarship with a complete alphabetical listing of bibliography on the Corpus Tibullianum for the years 1970-2000. The ancient testimonia are quoted in full and there are sections on Tibullus' life and times, his relations with his patron, and Augustan themes in his work. The literary significance of Tibullus' mistresses and the other characters in his elegies, together with the structure, style and metre of Books I and II and their links with contemporary literature, are all clearly and succinctly reviewed. The detailed comment on each poem is preceded by an introductory essay.