MAR: Lesson - Reading Martial in Translation

Image: a page from an illuminated manuscript. The manuscript contains poems by the Roman poet Martial.Reading Martial in Translation

To get a good sense of how Martial's epigrams were written, we are going to read Book 1 of his Epigrams. The image to the right is an illuminated copy of Martial's Epigrams from the middle ages. Illuminated means using highly stylized text to create a vibrant manuscript - notice the detail on the B and the edge details on the page. It is well worth seeing this image in a larger format to really get all the detail.

Download Handouts

If you have not already, please download the Translation of Epigrams, Book 1 Links to an external site.. This will be our main resource in gathering basic information about the structure, style, form and function of Martial's writing. Be sure to contact your instructor for any additional help with the content.

Finally, download the Martial English Reading Log Links to an external site. document to provide you with some guided note-taking questions.