Shadows, Dust, and Simulacra in Propertius Book Four
By Hunter Gardner
The most dominant form of feminine subjectivity in Propertius’s fourth poetry book is one that hovers uncomfortably between life and death. While nearly all the women of book four are presented with some reference to their deaths, Cynthia of 4.7 and Cornelia of 4.11 are the most obvious examples of women who linger on a threshold that separates the living from the dead. By suspending the closure of death owed to these two women, Propertius allows them to dictate terms of their commemoration.
Elegy, Aetia, and the Conquest of the Feminine in Propertius Book 4
By Serena Witzke
Propertius Book 4 is a paradoxical juxtaposition of female triumph and female ruin: the poet ventriloquizes women in half the poems (4.3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11), allowing them a rare chance to speak; Cynthia conquers the amator in 4.8; and the lena manipulates him (4.5).
Propertius 4.7: Cynthia Re-Reads the Elegiac Affair
By Jessica Wise
In elegy 4.7, the dead Cynthia triumphantly returns to Propertius’ poetry, confronting the poet-lover in an extensive speech that provocatively undermines his romanticized account, in Books 1-3, of their relationship. She focuses on such unglamorous elements as nightly meetings in the Subura, sex in the crossroads, the devastating economic effects of his neglect, and the brutal punishment of slaves. Cynthia’s speech occurs in the context of poems 4.5 and 4.8, which likewise recast the elegiac love affair as containing many tawdry elements.