THE LAODAMIA SIMILE IN CATULLUS 68: REFLECTIONS ON LOVE AND LOSS
Abstract
In Catullus’ poem 68 he compares his beloved, generally identified as Lesbia, to the mythological figure of Laodamia in a long simile covering 57 lines. Laodamia epitomises the ideal wife, both passionate and loyal and so much in love with her new husband Protesilaus, that she cannot bear to live without him. Therefore she appears to be the perfect comparison for a beloved woman as seen through the eyes of her infatuated lover. But at a closer reading of the poem the interpretation of the simile turns out to be much more complex than that. Lesbia is not loyal and she is not Catullus’ wife. He admits both these facts near the end of the poem. Furthermore, Laodamia turns out to have two referents: Lesbia and the poet himself. In this paper I will be looking at various interpretations of the Laodamia simile as well as adding my own thoughts on this complex and beautiful poem.
Published
2012-03-30
Issue
Section
Articles
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (BY-NC-ND 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
