Author: STATIUS,
Title: Thebaid 4. Edited with an Introduction, Translation, and commentary by R. Parkes.
Description: Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2012. XXXVIII,357p. Original hard bound with pictorial dust wrappers. Spine gilt titled. Like new. "'P.'s volume provides a meticulously researched commentary on the whole of Book 4. P. provides her own revised text with a brief apparatus, using as its basis Hill?s 1996 text but particularly taking into account the textual challenges posed by the new editions of Shackleton Bailey (2003) and Hall (2007 text and apparatus and 2008 secondary apparatus). (?) All the readings in the apparatus are fully discussed in the commentary; the result is a conservative, judicious and highly readable text of the Thebaid 4. The book is attractively produced with clear type and facing text and prose translation. P.?s commentary is richly informative and meticulously researched, covering matters of historical, geographical and cultural importance. A strength of her commentary is also the wealth of literary allusions, which range from early Greek poetry to Renaissance literature, including references to the twelfth-century epic poet Joseph of Exeter whose De Bello Troiano draws importantly on Statius. (?) The introduction, which is divided into six parts, provides a clear exposition of the special character of Book 4 within the epic. Part 1 covers briefly Statius? career and the plot of the Thebaid. (?) (?) Part 2 and 3 deal with particular aspects of the narrative art of Book 4. (?) Part 4 discusses the literary tradition about Thebes, the array of texts that inform Statius? epic. (?) The final two parts provide an overview of the poem?s reception (Part 5) and a rationale for her text (Part 6). This introduction should be essential reading for any student of the Thebaid. (?) P.?s commentary is an impressive one that provides a solid foundation for future research on Statius and Flavian poetry.? (CAROLE E. NEWLANDS in The classical Review (New Series), 2013, pp.447-449)."

Keywords: 9780199695256