Book excerpt: The bond between love and death has long been recognised as a defining characteristic of the elegies of Propertius, but scholars have rarely clarified how or to what degree Propertius differed from other love poets in associating these themes. In this book, Dr Papanghelis traces the radical way in which Propertius dealt with amorous and morbid fantasies in his poems. He argues that the modes of erotic expression used in the elegies are fundamentally unconventional, to the point that the definitions of love and death are interdependent. This book offers a detailed reading of some of the most stimulating and problematic of Propertius' elegies, offering fresh insight on the question of the poet's sensuous temperament and the significance of the love-death relationship in his works.