Commentaries on Catullus’ Poetry (Poems 72 & 42) Essay

There is great nuance and sensitivity in verse 72. We be told very early in the paroleg that it is address to Lesbia, Catullus view as it away to whom a moderate number of songs in the collection are addressed (or concern). Earlier Lesbia verses had sh stimulate Catullus simple and insatiable love for my girl1 in very romantic linguistic process for example, the run alongs describing the number of times he wished that they could pamper, in poem 5, which caused Aurelius and Furius to describe Catullus as a sissy poet2.However, in poem 70 we begin to con Catullus feelings for Lesbia turn sour as he tells us that a womans words to her lover are as trustworthy as those written on wind or water after presumably disbelieving her when she told him that there was no champion she would rather marry than him, non even if asked by Jove himself3. If we assume that Lesbia was Clodia Metelli, we realize that she was already married, so if her words are not suggesting that she has be come available, she must be describing an unfulfillable wish and it is perhaps the fact that she says these words just is unable(p) to act on her marriage vow which causes Catullus to be so untrusting4. Compared to the outbursts of rapture and fury in the poems of what has been described as the first book, poem 72 is much cooler and more(prenominal) analytical5 Catullus here seems to be writing from his head rather than this heart.He uses, in the poem, two striking, and bank lineing, similes to turn in to understand his love for Lesbia. He loved her (note the past tense) as a jet talent love his girlfriend (72.3), but in accessory to that he loved her to a fault as a father might his sons and sons-in-law (72.4). This is touching because it obviously implies that the latter affinity might be closer, with more of a connection, than the former, and, closely importantly, that Lesbia was as dear to him as a son would birth been, his own flesh and blood. Wray finds this comp arison interesting because it is evidence against the long-standing assurance that papistical paternity was a tyrannical and grimly love slight practice session of parental power6However, from here on in, the t wholeness of love and ticker darkens to one of cynicism. Now that he knows Lesbia he is has less affection for the woman. Catullus uses the language of obligation and Lesbia, as he sees it, has wronged him7. The poem ends with the enigmatic but unchewable statement that, because of the hurt she has caused him, Catullus loves Lesbia more, but homogeneouss her less. At first, this may seem same non find and a contradiction in terms. However, when Catullus uses the verb amare (to love) he is describing his lot to her, a diversity of lust or natural allure, roundthing that he manifestly has no control over. As much, thusly, as he does not like Lesbia for what she has put him through (i.e. her adultery), his love for her remains from the simpler time when he wished to kiss you just so many kisses (7.9)Poem 85 is where Catullus perhaps expresses the ambiguity and seeming contradiction inherent in his feelings bestI loathe and I love. Perhaps youre asking why I do that?I dont know, but I feel it happening, and am racked.We rouse again see here clearly that Catullus is less a master than a subject8 of his emotions. The fact that he paints himself as being so emotionally powerless gives such(prenominal)(prenominal) poems as these a tragic quality it also, arguably, helps to make Catullus such a universal poet who seat still touch people through the ages. Poem 73 also carries some of the injustice that Catullus had expressed in 72 the attack on a friend who is probably Rufus (though we do not realise that the poem is addressed to him until it becomes evident later in the collection) is because he has returned honest munificence with no more than ingratitude. We now realise why the lampoons on Rufus alternated with Lesbia-poems at 69-72.9 This wh ole section of Catullus collection is a study of betrayal and ill emotions.In the very first line of poem 72, Catullus talks well-nigh himself in the third-person, and this seems to be a literary device which emphasises the fact that he is not in control it is Lesbia (and her actions) who is the subject of the poem. By declaring that his passion is more intense (72.5) Catullus leads us to think that he is about to, also, tell us how much he therefore loves Lesbia. However, by introducing the dichotomy in the conclusion line between his love and dislike for Lesbia, our expectations are finally overthrown, which makes the contrast seem to be huge. It is by means of literary effects such as these that Catullus manages to express the almost inexpressible nuance of his emotion.This poem, ultimately, is most in(predicate) when read as part of the collection, as one can then draw links between the subtle issues in the Lesbia poems and see the hard web of emotions that Catullus paints f or us. The development from a romantic, devoting relationship between Lesbia and Catullus to the trauma of that relationship breaking down is fascinating, and may reflect the emotions of millions of people alive today in similar situations.Poem XLIIThis poem is perhaps most interesting because it in itself can be seen as an imitation of the roman practice of flagitatio10, which was a form of normal justice involving a displace surrounding the man suspected of wrongdoing (or his house) whilst shouting roughly tripping phrases in unflattering language, demanding redress11. This was a very effective tactic because in a small community fear of defamation was strong though it did, of course, rely on having friends willing to engage in the practice in order for what was seen as justice to be done. In this strip, Catullus tells us that the annoyance was the theft of a notebook and the subsequent refusal to return it12. We can only when speculate about the girl who stole them (thoug h it has been inferred from the fact that she is described as an adulteress13 that she may well be Lesbia) and we also study just as little knowledge about what Catullus stolen notebook may gift arrested (and why it seems to be so precious to him) we may affect that it contained poetry, but that is no more than a guess.If that were true, the first two lines would contain a sweet irony Catullus deploys poetry himself, hendecasyllables, as his flagitatio mob. He orders the hendecasyllables to come from everywhere (42.2), to metaphorically surround her. The image is an intimidating one the lines of poetry fix become men enclosing in on the suspect, shouting about her crime. When Catullus demands, Dirty adulteress, give screening the notebook. Give back the notebook, change adulteress (42.11-12), he is using a technique common to flagitatio the reversal of word order belonged to a very old popular custom as a means of intensifying the demand14. Catullus readership, we can surely assume, would have been mindful of such devices and would at once have understood what Catullus was doing.Between the demands for the notebook, there is much invective and abuse hurled at the girl. Catullus tells us that she has an ugly gait, a face like a Gallican puppys (42.9) and is a filthy trollop (42.13) and a brazen bitch-face (42.17). Newman describes this as a fine example of carnival caricature included for originally humorous effect15. However, it is not hard to see how these lines could be intended to have a hurtful effect, too, shaming the thief into repentance.Catullus is also all too aware of his social superiority10 and may obviously be arrogantly manoeuvreing his self-importance by making such a flimflam over the loss of his notebook. This idea can be seen in, for example, poem 84, in which Catullus mocks Arrius incorrect use of aspirates which is surely caused by the politicians less privileged upbringing Catullus attack, in this case as could be argued is th e case in poem 42, is really then a display of his own aristocratic superiority. There is also a general link with poems such as 46, in which Catullus advertises his social status by documenting his travels with a sense of entitlement to faraway Roman lands.Perhaps the most pleasing feature of this poem is its conclusion. After all the fortissimo shouting, invective and carmina (chanting typical of flagitatio16), Catullus decides that he unavoidably to change tone and tactics (42.22). He thus, seemingly sarcastically, ends the poem by asking for the notebook not by calling her a dirty adulteress but a virtuous lady (42.24), as we see that his invective has, somewhat comically, failed in its objective. On the other hand, the last line could more literally be interpreted as an acknowledgement of the flaws of this kind of public system of obtaining restitution. It does not seem unlikely that the girl would have responded more positively to flattery than flagitatio Catullus could thus be making a wider point about the role of invective in society.The poem, in the collection, sits between invective poems on either side of it, with the previous three poems containing invective, some quite rude and obscene in poem 43, for example, Mamurras fancy woman is described as being ugly from head to toe and, in poem 41, Ameana is called the female fuck-up. Perhaps, then, poem 42 is in the perfect hole to show Catullus invective being tempered it is in that poem that he shows that such anger does not always produce the desired effects. In poems 41 and 43, however, we are not shown any consequences of Catullus airing his opinions. We are simply told, in each, that there is an ugly girl in whom he is not interested there is not intended to be the nuance and harlequinade value that poem 42 contains.To conclude, Catullus adopting the form of flagitatio for this poem underscores the poets experience with the traditional purposes and values inherent in Roman invective17 not onl y does he derive authority from the tradition of the technique, but it also allows him to attack her harshly and eloquently. However, ultimately, he couldnt force a blush from, in Catullus words, the brazen bitch-face. We, therefore, see the limitations of invective perhaps Catullus is admitting to us that we should see it as little more than entertainment.More importantly, though, the twist at the end of the poem is of stylistic and comedic value and can, perhaps, be said to show Catullus eloquence. Moreover, the fact that he feels no qualms at using such openly offensive language can be attributed to the fact that Romans would surely have sympathised with his demands for justice in face of a thief and may, also, be a reflection of his superior social status (not to mention the lower attachment with which women were held generally) and consequent security in his right to show his anger in whatever way that he pleased. Ultimately, the poem makes character assassination into an kin dly and technically adept art.BibliographyDyson, J.T. (2007). The Lesbia Poems, in M.B. Skinner (ed.), A Companion to Catullus (Oxford) 254-275.Fitzgerald, W. (1999). Catullan Provocations quarrel Poetry and the Drama of Position. London.Fraenkel, E. (1961). Catullus XLII, in J.H. Gaisser (ed.), Oxford Readings in Classical Studies Catullus (Oxford) 356-368.Newman, J.K. (1990). Roman Catullus. Bodenheim.Selden, D.L. (1992). Catullus and the Rhetoric of Performance, in J.H. Gaisser (ed.), Oxford Readings in Classical Studies Catullus (Oxford) 490-559.Tatum, W.J. (2007). Social input and Political Invective, in M.B. Skinner, A Companion to Catullus (Oxford) 333-354.Wiseman, T.P. (1985). Catullus and his World A Reappraisal. Cambridge.Wray, D. (2001). Catullus and the Poetics of Roman Manhood. Cambridge.1 Catullus 2.1.2 cf. Catullus 16.3 Catullus 70.2.4 Dyson (2007) 269.5 Wiseman (1985) 166.6 Wray (2001) 112.7 Fitzgerald (1999) 117.8 Selden (1992) 541.9 Wiseman (1985) 167.10 Fitzgera ld (1999) 62.11 Fraenkel (1961) 364.12 Catullus 42.4 (refuses to give me our notebook back).13 Catullus 42.1214 Fraenkel (1961) 363.15 Newman (1990) 192.16 Fraenkel (1961) 364.17 Tatum (2007) 337.