Uneigentliches Sprechen und Bildermischung in den Elegien des Properz

Propertius’ Elegies are among the most original products of Latin literature. Understanding the poems, however, is complicated by the idiosyncratic language and forms of composition on the one hand and the defective transmission of the texts on the other. The most striking stylistic characteristics are the bold use of metaphor and the combining of often disparate images. The study examines this central aspect and demonstrates that the boldness is not due to the vagaries of textual transmission but can be traced back to Propertius himself.

Thomas Riesenweber, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg.

"A dispetto del titolo, il suo è ben più di un saggio sul linguaggio figurato ed è destinato a rappresentare un punto di riferimento importante per chiunque intenda occuparsi del testo di Properzio."
Paolo Fedeli in: Gnomon 2013

"In sum, R. has produced a valuable micro-philological roadmap on a central aspect of Propertius' cryptic and convuluted Dichtersprache, offering a formal matrix to classify the multiple variants of figurative usage, and then applying this to unravel and interpret the densely suggestive expressions."
Gottfried Mader in: Latomus 3/2011