Juvenal: Satires Book I

by Juvenal, Susanna Morton Braund (Editor)

This volume presents a new commentary on the first book of satires of the Roman satirist Juvenal. In the Introduction Braund situates Juvenal within the genre of satire and demonstrates his originality in creating an angry character who declaims in the grand style. The Commentary illuminates the content and style of Satires 1-5. The essays on each of the poems together with the overview of Book I in the Introduction present the first integrated reading of these Satires as an organic structure.

Genres: Classics

ebook

First published March 29, 1996

About the author

Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis, known commonly by the shortened Anglicized version of his name Juvenal, was a Roman poet of the late first and early second centuries AD/CE. He is the author of The Satires, a series of sixteen short poems in dactylic hexameter on a variety of subjects.

Date of birth: ca. 55 A.D.
Date of death: ca. 138 A.D.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I've finally gotten around to translating some Juvenal. I read about half of the first satire and almost rolled my eyes straight out of my head. Juvenal is brash, indignant, at times obscene, and almost always offensive to someone or other. Which is fine for some people, but I'm not exactly interested in what is basically ancient Roman South Park.
That being said, this edition is fantastic and the commentary is one of the best I've ever used for a Latin text. If you're going to subject yourself to Juvenal, definitely go with Braund.

[Naopako dete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ljudi, ljudi, ljudi

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Satire is the best. Juvenal reviles upper-crust Roman men. My favorite screed was Satura II, in which the eastern effeminacy of Roman men is disparaged. It's hilarious. Juvenal is definitely worth reading for his style, word choice, and the satirical content.

The Cambridge edition gives the student plenty of information about the origins of satire, Juvenal (the author more than the historical person as we know very little biographical details) and the satura included in Book 1. Highly recommended.

[Antha · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know what Juvenal likes? Rhetorical questions.