The purpose of this thesis is to determine the limits of evidence concerning the biography of the Roman poet Catullus, the texts of his poems, and the earlier poetic influence on his longer works and to compare scholarly opinions about those topics. To attain those objectives, both classical authors and modern scholars were used as sources. This work has five chapters. The first outlines the problems of Catullan scholia. The second and third discuss his life and texts. The fourth and fifth concern Catullus' poetic creed and his borrowings from earlier poets and poetic traditions. This paper's conclusion is that, although no full assessment of the poet can be made without additional evidence, Catullus remains a major poetic figure deserving of additional study.