Statius Silvae 5

The poems of Silvae 5, the last book of the Silvae, were composed in the final years of Domitian's principate (81-96 A.D.). The book was probably assembled by an editor soon after Statius' death, and is important for its concern with the poet himself, as well as public figures and personal friends. Three of the poems are laments, including one for Statius' father, himself a poet and teacher; there is also a short poem on insomnia, and one addressed to a young man at the start of his public career.
Bruce Gibson's commentary is the first to be published on Silvae 5 since Vollmer's 1898 commentary on the whole of the Silvae, and includes a critical text and parallel translation. The general introduction deals with such topics as the poetics of the Silvae, the posthumous status of Book 5, and the tradition of poems of lament and consolation. The commentary examines issues of linguistic usage and textual problems, the historical and cultural background, and aspects of interpretation such as the use of allusion and the role of genre. Silvae 5 emerges as the work of a learned poet responding to the Rome of his time whilst fully engaged with the traditions of Greek and Latin literature.