Roman Civilization Essay: Exploring Catullus and Lesbia's Relationship

This essay provides an analysis of a poem by Catullus, focusing on his relationship with Lesbia within the context of Roman civilization. The essay examines the complexities of their relationship, including themes of love, infidelity, and the emotional torment experienced by the poet. It explores the power dynamics, the poet's helplessness, and the societal norms that influenced their interactions. The essay also considers the poem's reflection of the broader Roman society and its values. The author uses the poem to describe the complex and unbalanced relationship between the characters, starting as an affair, and highlighting the poet's awareness of Lesbia's infidelity. The essay concludes by emphasizing the poem's portrayal of a complex love story and the poet's sense of helplessness. References from other academic sources are used to support the arguments presented in the essay.

Running head: ROMAN CIVILIZATION
Roman Civilization
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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The poem has been taken from the one act play Lesbia which was written by Richard
Davey. The poem also talks about the relation which the protagonist Catullus shares with his
lover/mistress Lesbia. The author has used the poem to talk about this relationship which
both the characters share with each other as mentioned in the poem itself. This is what will be
discussed by the readers in the poem itself about the relationship which the protagonist of the
story shares with that of his mistress in the poem of the play.
The purpose of this essay is to describe the relationship shared by Catullus and
his mistress/lover named Lesbia in the one act poem written by the author Richard
Davey himself.
When the readers start to analyse the poem “Lesbia” written by the author Richard
Davey himself, it can be stated by the readers themselves that the poem accounts a very
complex and unbalanced relationship shared by both these characters. The readers also finds
out the fact the relationship between both the characters start off as an affair in itself and the
poem also tells the readers about the fact that Catullus never objected about the fact of the
relationship between the characters starting off as an affair (Stephens, 2013). The poem also
tells the readers about the duration of the time the relationship between them lasted.
In the lines which have been provided for the analysis to the readers themselves, it can
be stated that the protagonist of the poem Catullus is aware of the infidelity of his Mistress
Lesbia. The reason for this is because of the fact that Lesbia, having the upper control over
the relationship itself, had the ability to sleep with any person whom she had liked. The
protagonist of the poem Catullus, understand the infidelity of his Mistress as she sleeps with a
lot of other men himself (Pavlock, 2013). However, it is the influence of the woman on the
character of Catullus himself watch his Mistress perform her infidelity and not being able to
protest about it. The poem speaks about the helplessness nature of the poet as he sees the

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unloyal nature of the woman whom he loved and not being able to do anything about the
matter on his own. It is because if the helplessness the author feels in the poem itself that he
utters the lines which have been provided to the readers in the article (Armstrong, 2013).
From the above discussions, it can be concluded that the author has presented a tale of
love which is both complex and different. This is because of the fact that the love story of the
characters mentioned in the one act play itself. Thus, it can be said that the poem gives the
readers a glimpse of the relationship between the characters in the poem itself and the nature
of the relationship that the poet Catullus shared with his Mistress Lesbia herself. Thus, the
poem truly speaks about the helplessness of the author himself.

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Reference List
Armstrong, R. (2013). Journeys and Nostalgia in Catullus. Classical Journal, The, 109(1),
43-71.
Pavlock, B. (2013). Mentula in Catullus 114 and 115. Classical World, 595-607.
Stevens, B. E. (2013). Silence in Catullus. University of Wisconsin Pres.
Theodorakopoulos, E., Hardwick, L., & Harrison, S. (2013). Catullus and Lesbia Translated
in Women’s Historical Novels’. Classics in the Modern World: A ‘Democratic Turn,
275-86.