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.
