Catullus 51

Question 1

What is Catullus 51 about?

Answer 1

Catullus jealousy for Metellus and love at first sight with Lesbia.

Question 2

Who is the person Catullus describes in line one, and how does he describe them?

Answer 2

Metellus = he seems to me to be equal to a god,

Question 3

How does Catullus describe Metellus in line 2?

Answer 3

He seems to be greater than the divine, if it is right.

Question 4

What does Metellus do with Lesbia frequently?

Answer 4

He who sitting opposite you repeatedly looks and listens.

Question 5

What is Metellus doing whilst he is listening?

Answer 5

Sweetly smiling,

Question 6

What does the sweet smile do?

Answer 6

It snatches away all feeling from poor me

Question 7

What happened when Catullus noticed Lesbia?

Answer 7

For as I noticed you Lesbia, nothing could overcome me.

Question 8

What is wrong with Catullus?

Answer 8

But my tongue is paralysed,

Question 9

What is under his limbs?

Answer 9

A gentle flame trickles under my limbs,

Question 10

What are Catullus ears doing?

Answer 10

My ears ring with their own sound,

Question 11

What are Catullus eyes doing?

Answer 11

My two eyes are covered by night.

Question 12

What does Catullus say to himself?

Answer 12

Leisure time is trouble for you Catullus:

Question 13

What does Catullus do in leisure time?

Answer 13

You rejoice in leisure time and are too involved:

Question 14

What has leisure time destroyed?

Answer 14

Leisure time has destroyed both kings and before Blessed Cities.

Question 15

What does Catullus exploit a lot in this poem?

Answer 15

Enjambement and Hyperbole.

Question 16

5. Dulce ridentem misero

Answer 16

Juxtaposition between sweetly and poor me,

Question 17

qui sedens adversus identitet te spectat et audit

Answer 17

Tricolon of present participles.
Sedens
Spectat
Audit

Question 18

What does Catullus do to the first section of the poem?

Answer 18

He breaks hendecasyllabic.

Question 19

What are the first two lines?

Answer 19

Basically the same = repeition

Question 20

What is significant about the first line?

Answer 20

ille = efp

Question 21

What does the enjambement create in this poem?

Answer 21

Long sentences = speeds up everything and makes it happen quickly

Question 22

What is significant about the second section

Answer 22

Three metaphors = metaphoric tricolon.

Question 23

What are the three metaphors about his limbs, eyes, tongue and ears suggesting?

Answer 23

The symptoms of love.

Question 24

What is significant about the three lines about otium?

Answer 24

Triclinic anaphor polyptoton, polysyndeton,

Question 25

What is significant about the two section?

Answer 25

They contrast each other, displaying his contrasting feelings, the section about jealousy is explained with nice language, the section about love is explained with painful language.

Question 26

What are the perdidit urbes?

Answer 26

Blessed cities = referring to troy and Paris falling in love.

Question 27

Videtur

Answer 27

Seems

Question 28

Misero

Answer 28

Poor me

Question 29

Sonitu Suopte

Answer 29

Ears ring = sibilance that sounds like fire

Question 30

Tibi molestum est … exsultas nimiumque

Answer 30

Antithesis = opposes.

Question 31

What does Catullus talking to himself create?

Answer 31

Humour and suggestion of madness.