Elegy Form Tradition

The book uniquely emphasizes the dynamic relationship between the elegiac couplet's form and its thematic content.
It challenges the traditional view of form as merely decorative, arguing instead that it actively shaped the expression of Roman identity and experience.

Beginning with the origins and technical aspects of the couplet, the book progresses to in-depth analyses of elegies by Catullus, Propertius, Tibullus, and Ovid, before demonstrating the tradition’s influence on later literary movements.
Through close readings of Latin texts and engagement with existing scholarship, this study offers fresh perspectives valuable to students and scholars of classical literature and history.