Arkins, Brian

About the author: Dr. Brian Arkins is Associate Professor of Classics at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Dr. Arkins was educated at Clongowes Wood College and at University College, Dublin, where he obtained an M.A. and Ph.D. He is the author of six books of criticism and over one hundred journal articles.

An Interpretation of the Poems of Catullus

1999 0-7734-7890-6
This study is a full introduction to the poetry of Catullus for students and general readers, establishing a number of crucial contexts – personal, social, literary – within which Catullus functioned. It sets out four way in which Catullus can be seen as a modern poet: emphasis on art, on sexual themes, on the individual voice, and on a brief, clear style. “Brian Arkins allows us to appreciate more precisely this ‘modernity’ of Catullus in his introductory chapter. . . . A particular feature is the sensitive introduction to the longer poems which are often put to one side as an expression of the more forbidding and ‘learned’ side of Catullus. . . . Especially fascinating, in what we commonly regard as a totally masculine world, is the way in which Catullus often compares his own feelings and ideals in relationships with those of women such as Laodamia. This book will make us pick up our Catullus again to explore with new insights an age and a poet whom we thought we knew so well.” – Andrew Smith

Greek and Roman Themes in Joyce

1999 0-7734-8035-8
This volume begins with a brief analysis of the meaning of the Classical Tradition; deals with how Joyce acquired knowledge of Greek and Roman material; and then devotes chapters to analysing Joyce's appropriation of Greek philosophy, of the Odyssey of Homer, and of Greek and Latin language. "Brian Arkins' book is one that leaves every scholar in his debt. He brings in much more than Homer that is relevant from the Greek and his discussion of Joyce's use of the Latin Mass allows for a serious, many-sided discussion of this much misunderstood topic. And the author never loses sight of his audience, adopting a lucid, frequently witty and always accessible style to convey his learned insights." – Dr. Anthony Roche

Interpretation of the Poetry of Propertius (c. 50 - 15 B. C.)

2005 0-7734-6229-5