Analysis

• Found on a tombstone and dates back to circa 1500 BC
• Originally the tombstone would've been found alongside a Roman road
• Content of the stone is typical of those dedicated by husband to deceased wives,praising her virtues.
• Stone is slightly uncommon as it is written in more of a conversational tone than in a formal manner
• Contents of the stone are a useful insight into the Roman pysche and the Roman Matrona
• paulum


  Persuades passer-by to read contents of the stone as it won't take long
• asta ac perlege


  persuades passer-by to read tombstone through
• line 2


  contains a pun as sepulcrum and pulchrum are a rhyming couplet
• line 2


  Chiasmus achieved by word order

  Noun Adjective Adjective Noun
• nomen


  Draws attention to first important fact about Claudia
• nomen


  Typical to draw attention to the name first as epitaphs usually went in chronological order of someones life
• line 4


  possesive adjectives suum and suo enclose the two nouns maritum (her husband) and corde (her heart)
• line 4


  Contained within the words corde and suo is the word dilexit (she loved)
• natos duos creavit


  natos is a more masculine noun than the other word that could have been used liberos (children).This is to celebrate the fact she had two sons which was a great achievemnet in Roman society
• lines 7-8


  Show how perfectly she fit into Roman society.As a matrona it was expected that when serious matters such as politics or business were discussed she stayed quiet.Her way of walking also shows the things valued in a woman in Roamn society
• domum seravit, lanam fecit


  shows Claudia was aeverything a Roman would want a woman to be .Spinning wool was also an important part of Roman culture
• dixi


  This is ring composition bringing the epitaph back to it's beginnings and resonates the colloqiualism of the poem