SOURCE: "Humanity and Humour; Imagery and Wit" in Martial: An Unexpected Classic, Cambridge University Press, 1991, pp. 211-51.

In the following excerpt, Sullivan focuses on the poet's structural and technical artistry. Sullivan analyzes Martial's arrangement of epigrams within individual volumes, the variety of endings and metrical forms in his epigrams, his innovations in poetic diction and imagery, and the different kinds of humor Martial employs in his verses.

Gi; 1. Evaluating Martial =~ S1. Evaluating Martial

It would be a bold critic who attempted to define authoritatively the nature of Martial's best poetry and explain precisely why he has been popular and acclaimed or neglected and patronised in different periods. The wild fluctuations of his reputation over the centuries will come as no surprise to those familiar with the dynamics of reader response to literature. Then again, he offers an easy target for feminist and cultural criticism in his misogyny and...