In contradistinction to Homer and Virgil, the Latin poets examined in this chapter,Catullus, Tibullus, Propertius, Horace and Ovid, utilize a much wider range of voice and person, frequently adopting a first-person stance, so that the exemplary comparisons and identifications in their work may be presented from a perspective differing from that in epic narrative. In order to assess the significance of specific comparison or identification with an exemplar, it is necessary also to examine the extent to which each poet makes general reference to the characters and stories of myth in his work.

Catullus

Catullus, the earliest of this group of poets, makes considerable use of exemplary comparisons, and particularly in poem 68 (see Catull. 2–4) they form a very significant element in the development and structure of the text. By comparison with Homer and Virgil, there is a very marked increase in the number of non-divine figures cited in the comparisons and the one example of identification (Catull. 7).

In a poem addressed to Hortalus, accompanying the promised translation of a poem by Callimachus, Catullus cites his grief at the death of his brother as the reason for the delay in completing it. In the following lines he addresses his brother directly: