“Dilogy” in Martial’s Epigrams

Abstract

In this article we analyse the use of dilogy as a resource of poetic engine with a humoristic purpose in the epigrammatic coda of Martial’s compositions. The five types of dilogy most frequently used by the poet have been classified according to their lexical characteristics: a) terms with a sexual meaning; b) terms with a social meaning; c) proper names; d) set phrases or expressions; e) words of Greek origin.