Taking a latitude: William Hay’s translations and imitations of Martial

Abstract

This paper examines the translations and imitations of the classical Roman poet Martial included in William Hay, Select Epigrams of Martial (1755), as well as their paratexts, including the physical appearance of the book, the title-page, and the publisher’s advertisements at the end. The absence of a dedication and the relative paucity of annotation, both features of many published translations of the period, are commented on. Particular attention is paid to the fact that the work was published simultaneously in two different editions, one with and one without the Latin source text of the poems translated. It is argued that the Latin text functions as a paratext which offers a commentary on the translations, and that, taken together, these features offer an interesting case study in eighteenth-century British translation practices, and are particularly revealing about translation norms concerning references to sexuality and about gendered expectations relating to intended readerships.