Catullus
Ancient Roman · 1st century BC
Roman poet from Verona known for his love poems to the idealized 'Lesbia,' widely read throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
Connection to Taylor Swift
Taylor's invocation of Romeo and Juliet via the balcony scene activates Verona's literary inheritance as the city of love poetry. Catullus, the Roman poet from Verona who addressed his love poems to Lesbia, is the foundational source for that inheritance, the reason Shakespeare set the play there. Where Taylor reaches for Shakespeare directly, the deeper source Shakespeare himself reached for sits behind the choice of setting.
Notable Works
- Let Us Live and Love (Poem 5), Poems to Lesbia, Carmina
Appears in the Archive
Context within the Archive
Let Us Live and Love (5)
Uncle Jerry discusses Catullus as context for why Shakespeare set Romeo and Juliet in Verona. He explains that the Roman poet Catullus 'lived in Verona, came from Verona, and he wrote a whole series of love poems' to an idealized woman named Lesbia. He notes that 'everybody in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance read the poems of Catullus' and describes Verona as 'a city of love... a city where love poetry is born.' This is presented as background context for Shakespeare's choice of setting rather than a direct reference in Taylor's lyric.