M E Randall

Sulpiciae Eligiae M E Randall

This small book of the writings of the Augustan Sulpicia introduces the young Latin student to the sophisticated and eloquent poetry of one of Rome's most readable poets, especially for students at the intermediate to advanced Latin stage. This book is divided into three sections: "The Life of Sulpicia," "Catullus and His In?uence on Sulpicia" and "The Elegies." In the first section of the book, "The Life of Sulpicia," the reader is given a historical and biographical sketch of her life and times. The intent of this section is to show the reader that she was a well-educated and highly sophisticated Roman woman who just happened to live during the tumultuous times of the Republican Civil Wars.

In the second section of the book, "Catullus and His Influence on Sulpicia," the reader is introduced to the literary genre known as Neoteric poetics, of which Sulpicia's works could be classified. The reader learns about the genius of the Greeks, specifically Callimachus, and how his poetry affected the young poets who were under the patronage of Maecenas-most notably Catullus. Arguably, the most widely known Latin poet of this style was Catullus. The reader is introduced to his writings and the many ways in which the Greek poetic style influenced his writings and in turn Sulpicia.

Also in this section of the book, "The Elegies," the reader encounters five of Sulpicia's six elegies in Latin. In Section III after each poem are exercises and questions for students to complete as an assessment. The questions range from parsing exercises, to questions requiring students to analyze Sulpicia's feelings, thoughts, etc.