Imitation of Tibullus

Imitation of Tibullus - meaning Summary

Despair Unreturned in Love

The speaker addresses Cerinthus, pleading over a painful, unreturned love. He had hoped to overcome his suffering and live for love again, but rejection intensifies his anguish. The poem moves from a wish to endure for affection to a bleak conclusion that only death can spare him further hatred. It presents a concise statement of romantic despair and self-erasure in the face of fickle affection.