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.

In the essay below, Anderson contrasts the function of wit in Martial and Juvenal by an extended comparison of their poetry, particularly Martial's epigram 3.52 and Juvenal's third satire. He calls attention to significant differences in tone and purpose—even when the basic material is the same—and distinguishes between Martial's primary interest in humor and Juvenal's subordination of wit to serious thematic issues.

In the essay below, Butler offers a variety of judgments regarding Martial's life and work. He complains that Martial lacks seriousness and is guilty of lewdness, yet he credits the poet with an elegant style and a realistic view of his own abilities.

In the essay that follows, Garthwaite focuses on Book 9, discerning a subtle thematic relationship between the epigrams praising the emperor Domitian, the verses dedicated to the young slave Earinus, and the poems dealing with patronage. Garthwaite concludes that the Earinus cycle represents an ironic commentary on Domitian's moral hypocrisy, and that the patronage epigrams suggest that imperial panegyrics are really nothing more than the poet's fulfillment of his part of the client-patron ba...

In the following essay, Allen and a group of his students challenge the image of Martial as a desperately poor poet who regarded his verses as ephemeral or insignificant. Citing a variety of evidence to support their claim that Martial was financially secure and enjoyed a respectable social position, they argue that he was deeply involved in the publication of his books and believed strongly in the merit of his epigrams.

In this essay, Semple touches on a wide range of topics associated with Martial's life and work. He gives an extended treatment of the patron-client system as the writer's only means of financial support; the accuracy and sincerity of the epigrams praising Domitian; and Martial's poetic style and tone.

In the following excerpt, Smith offers a vigorous response to Martial's detractors, particularly those who have charged him with obsequiousness toward patrons. Smith stresses the tradition of the patron-client relationship—before as well as after Martial—and praises the poet's keen powers of observation, his candor, and his sense of proportion.

In the following excerpt, Swann calls attention to Martial's numerous references to Catullus, especially those allusions in which the younger poet names Catullus as his chief literary model.

In this essay, Duff stresses—and commends—Martial's realism, which he regards as the primary impulse behind the poet's variety of tone, perspective, and subject matter. Duff sees further evidence of Martial's realistic viewpoint in the poet's acknowledgment of his artistic limitations.

In this essay, originally delivered as a lecture in 1952, Johnson examines Martial's epigrams on death and dying. He calls attention to the poet's use of conventional tropes—especially from mythology—but he also remarks on the originality and genuine emotion in several of these obituaty epigrams.

In the following excerpt, Plass evaluates Martial's obscene epigrams in terms of Freud's commentary on the function and effectiveness of wit. Plass calls attention to the way Martial manipulates syntax and word play to subvert codes of propriety, confound logic, and amuse his audience.

In this essay, Preston assesses Martial's opinions—as expressed in the epigrams—of his artistic predecessors, and compares them to the more formal literary commentary offered by some of Martial's contemporaries.

In the essay below, originally delivered as a lecture in 1928, Spaeth evaluates Martial's opinion of four categories of first-century Roman professionals: physicians, teachers, lawyers, and poets.

In the following excerpt, Whipple discusses Martial's principal themes and classifies the epigrams by their content. He also provides a detailed analysis of their structure, emphasizing the poet's masterful use of rhetorical figures to enhance the essence and effect of his verses.

In the essay below, Malnati remarks on the different attitudes toward social mobility expressed by Martial (in eight epigrams from Book 5) and by Juvenal (in a passage from the third satire). He contends that although both poets are dealing here with the same issue—the law reserving the best seats in a theater for men of equestrian status—Juvenal's treatment reveals an aristocratic bias against upstarts in general, while the principal target of Martial's satire is social pretent...

In the essay below, Spaeth surveys Martial's depiction of men whose occupations he either scorned as contemptible or envied because they were lucrative—cobblers and booksellers, moneylenders and pawnbrokers, merchants and undertakers, and charioteers and musicians, among others.

In this essay, Chaney briefly surveys Martial's depiction of women—both those he admires and those whose features, vanity, or lack of virtue he disparages.

In the essay below, Krauss maintains that Martial's early and continuing failure to find a generous, sympathetic patron led to deep personal resentment and a proclivity for satire. The critic also speculates about why Martial's acerbic verses were so popular with his contemporary audience.

In the essay below, Jones describes the patron-client system, emphasizing both the humiliation Martial endured under various patrons and the poet's frequent evasion of the responsibilities he was supposed to fulfill as a client.

In the following excerpt from an essay first published in 1900, Boissier focuses on Martial's incisive portraits of character types in the fashionable society of his day and on the poet's attitude toward women.

In the following excerpt, Kay provides a concise overview of Martial's literary legacy in Italy, England, France, and Spain.

In the following excerpt from an essay originally published in 1771, Lessing salutes Martial as the first and best of the epigrammatists. In his discussion of the lewdness of some of Martial's verses, Lessing cautions against the assumption that the views expressed by the first-person narrator necessarily represent Martial's own opinions.

In this letter to his friend Cornelius Priscus, written around 104, Pliny eulogizes Martial, commending the poet's wit, incisiveness, and good nature. He also describes their patron-client relationship and raises doubts about the endurance of Martial's epigrams.

In the following excerpt, dated 1857, from Macaulay's journal, the distinguished British statesman and historian records his generally disparaging appraisal of Martial. Though Macaulay remarks on the poet's lively imagery, he is deeply offended by Martial's obscenity and mendicancy.

The poem below, believed to have been written in 1821, is Byron's famous imitation of Martial 1.1, on the poet's fame.