Unrequited love is no new concept looking at these two piece of works one can see that it was as prevalent today as it was in ancient
Greece and Rome. No matter what period no matter how hard humans try sometimes people acquire feelings and unfortunately the person of their desires does not return their affection, or their level of affection. Looking back toward Rome and Greece a great example of unrequited love is between Queen Dido and Aeneas in the Aeneid by Virgil. In this work Dido is the one with the feelings that are not exactly reciprocated. She is deeply in love with Aeneas and has saved him and his crew by giving them a place to stay and not forcing them out of her kingdom after they have crashed. For their love Dido made decisions that hurt her reputation with other kingdoms, as was referred to in the ancient text, ” because of you Libyans and nomad kings detest me, my own Tyrians are hostile.” This declaration reveals just how much that she scarified for their relationship and that she was willing to ruin her reputation not only with others but her own people and kingdom to spend time and show her affection too Aeneas. Instead of sacrificing equally Aeneas instead leaves Dido after he gets back on his feet and is ready to go back to his goal of establishing a kingdom in Italy. He leaves Dido all alone with the repercussions of her sacrifice that we made on an unrequited love. Similarly in Bruno Mar’s Grenade sings about “Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash.” This just outlines how similar these works are. One person giving all they have for the relationship (Dido) while the other doesn’t treasure it and instead leaves (Aeneas). Bruno also sings about all the bizarre and dangerous things he would do to show his love and protect his lover but that they would not do the same. Again very similar to the Aeneid whereas Dido gives up her reputation and is sidetracked from her goal of building her kingdom because Aeneas is in her kingdom, but instead of having the same sense of devotion Aeneas leaves her to fulfill his destiney.
Although these works are very similar, a main difference is that While Bruno would be willing to die for his lover Dido wants to die without him. For her the pain of unrequited love is worse than even death,”Why do I live on.” However, in Bruno Mars’s song he sings about what he would do to show his love which would be to die in the place of his lover. He sings about the different ways he would die for his lover trying to prove his love through how he would die for them. Dido does not exactly lament about dying for Aeneas more so without him she does not have a will or reason to live on and that death would be better than living knowing she ruined her reputation and gave up so much of herself for someone that did not have the same devotion. Both these pieces of work may be slightly different but both highlight the sacrifices one makes for love and how they are not always met equally.
If ever I did well and you were grateful
Or found some sweetness a gift from me,
Have pity now on a declining house!
Put this plan by,I beg you, If a prayer
Is not yet out of place.
Because of you Libyans and nomad kings
Detest me, my own Tyrians are hostile;
Because of you, I lost my integrity
And that admired name by which alone
I made my way once toward the stars.
To whom
Do you abandon mesa dying woman,
Guest that you are – the only name now left
From that of husband? Why do I live on?
Shall I, until my bother Pygmalion comes
To pull my walls down?