Catullus 51 Flashcards
What is Catullus 51 about?
Catullus jealousy for Metellus and love at first sight with Lesbia.
Who is the person Catullus describes in line one, and how does he describe them?
Metellus = he seems to me to be equal to a god,
How does Catullus describe Metellus in line 2?
He seems to be greater than the divine, if it is right.
What does Metellus do with Lesbia frequently?
He who sitting opposite you repeatedly looks and listens.
What is Metellus doing whilst he is listening?
Sweetly smiling,
What does the sweet smile do?
It snatches away all feeling from poor me
What happened when Catullus noticed Lesbia?
For as I noticed you Lesbia, nothing could overcome me.
What is wrong with Catullus?
But my tongue is paralysed,
What is under his limbs?
A gentle flame trickles under my limbs,
What are Catullus ears doing?
My ears ring with their own sound,
What are Catullus eyes doing?
My two eyes are covered by night.
What does Catullus say to himself?
Leisure time is trouble for you Catullus:
What does Catullus do in leisure time?
You rejoice in leisure time and are too involved:
What has leisure time destroyed?
Leisure time has destroyed both kings and before Blessed Cities.
What does Catullus exploit a lot in this poem?
Enjambement and Hyperbole.
- Dulce ridentem misero
Juxtaposition between sweetly and poor me,
qui sedens adversus identitet te spectat et audit
Tricolon of present participles.
Sedens
Spectat
Audit
What does Catullus do to the first section of the poem?
He breaks hendecasyllabic.
What are the first two lines?
Basically the same = repeition
What is significant about the first line?
ille = efp
What does the enjambement create in this poem?
Long sentences = speeds up everything and makes it happen quickly
What is significant about the second section
Three metaphors = metaphoric tricolon.
What are the three metaphors about his limbs, eyes, tongue and ears suggesting?
The symptoms of love.
What is significant about the three lines about otium?
Triclinic anaphor polyptoton, polysyndeton,
What is significant about the two section?
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.
What are the perdidit urbes?
Blessed cities = referring to troy and Paris falling in love.
Videtur
Seems
Misero
Poor me
Sonitu Suopte
Ears ring = sibilance that sounds like fire
Tibi molestum est … exsultas nimiumque
Antithesis = opposes.
What does Catullus talking to himself create?
Humour and suggestion of madness.
