Dinner parties are a significant part of upper-class Roman society, as it allows them to flaunt their wealth and build beneficial connections and form alliances. However, this social norm has negative connotations, as demonstrated by Martial and Pliny, no matter what perspective it is viewed from.
Two poems by Marshall broach the subject of dinner parties, but each from a different view. In Epigram 2.18, the narrator lays out the details of his exasperation and embarrassment about dinner invites that he had been trying to obtain from a wealthier man named Maximus. Martial does not blatantly state his stance on the social convention but does convey in great detail how it ensnares society. Through the eyes of a man seeking something as simple as an invitation to eat food, Martial imparts an important lesson about the …show more content…
Numerous steps and social graces must be followed before obtaining the revered dinner invitation, steps that require days of preparation and scheming. The narrator mentions starting the morning by paying his respects to Maximus, the host whose attention he is trying to capture. However, he also states that while he was trying to impress his target host, Maximus had "gone to call on someone else" (Mart. Ep. 2.18.6, transl. Shackleton Bailey). The next activity he partakes in to secure his seat at the table is escorting. Unfortunately, once again, Maximus's attention is focused elsewhere, because he too is trying to get an invitation to a dinner party. Throughout the epigram, the narrator constantly refers to Maximus as if they are the same, repeating the phrase "we're equal," but clearly if he is striving for a dinner invitation from Maximus then they are in different economic classes (2.18.4.6.8). This is the cycle and is also the narrator's plight, being a "slave's slave" (2.18.9). Both men, despite their
Two poems by Marshall broach the subject of dinner parties, but each from a different view. In Epigram 2.18, the narrator lays out the details of his exasperation and embarrassment about dinner invites that he had been trying to obtain from a wealthier man named Maximus. Martial does not blatantly state his stance on the social convention but does convey in great detail how it ensnares society. Through the eyes of a man seeking something as simple as an invitation to eat food, Martial imparts an important lesson about the …show more content…
Numerous steps and social graces must be followed before obtaining the revered dinner invitation, steps that require days of preparation and scheming. The narrator mentions starting the morning by paying his respects to Maximus, the host whose attention he is trying to capture. However, he also states that while he was trying to impress his target host, Maximus had "gone to call on someone else" (Mart. Ep. 2.18.6, transl. Shackleton Bailey). The next activity he partakes in to secure his seat at the table is escorting. Unfortunately, once again, Maximus's attention is focused elsewhere, because he too is trying to get an invitation to a dinner party. Throughout the epigram, the narrator constantly refers to Maximus as if they are the same, repeating the phrase "we're equal," but clearly if he is striving for a dinner invitation from Maximus then they are in different economic classes (2.18.4.6.8). This is the cycle and is also the narrator's plight, being a "slave's slave" (2.18.9). Both men, despite their