Read and comment on the first fragment of the elegy of the Roman poet Sulpicia, who lived in the 1st century BC.

Epistula I

Tandem venit amor, qualem texisse pudori
quam nudasse alicui sit mihi fama magis.
Exorata meis illum Cytherea Camenis
attulit in nostrum deposuitque sinum.
Exsolvit promissa Venus: mea gaudia narret,
dicetur si quis non habuisse sua.
Non ego signatis quicquam mandare tabellis,
ne legat id nemo quam meus ante, velim.
Sed peccasse iuvat, vultus componere famae
taedet: cum digno digna fuisse ferar.

“Al fin me llegó el amor, y es tal que ocultarlo por pudor,
antes que desnudarlo a alguien, peor reputación me diera.
Citerea, vencida por los ruegos de mis Camenas,
me lo trajo y lo colocó en mi regazo.
Cumplió sus promesas Venus: que cuente mis alegrías
quien diga que no las tuvo propias.
Yo no querría confiar nada a tablillas selladas,
para que nadie antes que mi amor lo lea, 
pero me encanta obrar contra la norma, fingir por el qué dirán
me enoja: fuimos la una digna del otro, que digan eso”.

López, Aurora (1994). No solo hilaron lana. Escritoras romanas en prosa y verso, p. 83. Madrid: Ediciones Clásicas.

1- Read the fragment and its translation.

2- What type of verse was characteristic of the elegy? What verses was it made up of?

3- What is the motive of her poem? What could she be ashamed of? Would this be the correct position for a young Roman woman?         

4- Who does she hold responsible for her situation?

5- What words would reflect her craft as a writer?

6- In what other verse does she express that she does not care about rumours?

7- If love for Roman women was limited to family and marriage, explain why was Sulpicia transgressive.

8- Did you like her verses? Why don't her figure and work appear in manuals and textbooks?