How long does it take to read The Epigrams of Martial?
Marcus Valerius Martialis, Paul Barie, Winfried Schindler, Uwe Walter
The Epigrams of Martial by Marcus Valerius Martialis, Paul Barie, Winfried Schindler, Uwe Walter takes about 7 hours 22 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 7 hours 22 minutes
A weekend read
First published 1501. 402 pages, about 110,550 words.
15 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 12 hours 17 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 7 hours 22 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 4 hours 36 minutes |
The page count is the median across 155 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
Despite his enduring popularity, Martial has recently suffered from serious critical neglect. The present work is the first edition of selections from Martial to be published for decades, and the first ever to include a fully representative selection of the oeuvre of the poet, who has often been criticised, unfairly, the authors argue, for obscenity and flattery of the Emperor Domitian. The epigrams included in the selection are organised under various heads, e.g. Martial and poetry, sexual mores, satirical pieces. A very full introduction deals with such topics as the prejudices and predilections of his audience which conditioned Martial's choice of subject matter, Martial's language, the structure and style of the epigrams, the epigrammatic tradition and Martial's creative engagement with it. The detailed commentary is suitable for use with undergraduates and is distinguished by its focus on social history as well as literary interpretation.
Subjects: Latin Epigrams, Poetry, Epigrams, Colosseum (Rome, Italy), Adaptations, History and criticism
