Catullus 51

“Catullus 51” is extremely similar to a work now called “Fragment 31” by Greek poet Sappho. Sappho is regarded as one of the greatest lyric poets and was celebrated by Catullus and his circle of Neoteric poets. “Catullus 51” could be interpreted as an interpretation or translation of Sappho’s original poem. Both poems employ the Sapphic Stanza (See: Literary Devices), for instance, and the content of the first three stanzas is nearly identical in both works.

The goal of the Roman translator, however, was much different than that of modern translators. The Romans saw translation as an opportunity to enhance the poem. Ancient Roman translators tended to exaggerate or hyperbolize aspects of poems they translate. Catullus demonstrates this tendency by making Sappho’s man “better than gods” (Line 2) instead of merely their equal. Catullus also attempts to remove ambiguities, naming Sappho’s ambiguous love object “Lesbia” (Line 7).

The translator tries not only to demonstrate their superior poetic abilities, but to enhance their own language’s literature through the inclusion of the translated work. This cultural assimilation requires more than a literal translation of the poem’s words: The translator must place the work within a Roman