Catullus Poem 45 Notes Flashcards
What are the three sections this poem has been split into?
Man declaring his undying love; woman answers with her own declaration; poet comments on their love
Which actions/ statements give closure to the sections of the poem?
Sneezing approval and ‘auspicatiorem’
How is their relationship depicted overall?
Intimacy of their embrace; protestations of love to each other; authorial comments on their mutual fidelity; verbal patterning and asyndeton
Which two lines have a verbal pattern?
Line 1 and 21
Which line has asyndeton?
Line 19
What can the poem be seen as from face value?
An evocation of blissful love observed in others
How is the equality of love shown?
Male vs female; east vs west; poem structure; relaxed sensuality of love making
How is the physical passion and lasting devotion shown?
Using words and concepts derived from Roman marriage
Which phrases are derived from Roman marriage?
'Omnes annos' 'Uni domino usque serviamus' 'Ab auspicio bono' 'Unam Acmen' 'Uno in Septimio fidelis'
What emphasises the phrase ‘omnes… annos’?
Hyperbaton to enclose the metrical unit
What is hyperbaton?
An inversion of the normal order of words
What can we say about Catullus and this poem?
It is the one and only example of fulfilled love in his poems
What is the effect of ‘Septimius’ and ‘Acmen’ being next to each other?
Shows the closeness of the two
What shows Septimius is being enveloped by Acme?
‘Acmen… suos amores’ next to his name
What is the relationship showing in terms of culture?
The relationship between a Roman and a Greek freedwoman as ‘Acme’ is a Greek name
What is the key word? How do we know?
Love is the key word because there is polyptoton
Line 4 gives the effect of what?
A golden line
How is line 4 like a golden line?
‘Omnes … annos’ on the outside; ‘sum… paratus’ on inner and ‘assidue’ in middle
What sound imagery is present on line 5?
Alliteration of ‘q’ and then ‘p’
What is the underlying meaning of ‘perire’?
To perish with love and dying the most which leads onto the lethal situation with Septimius next
Name the two places where a Roman might meet a lion?
Libya and India
Which word stresses the fearful encounter with the lion?
‘Solus’
Why is ‘tosta’ irrelevant? So what could it mean instead?
‘Scorched by the sun’ but the lion will be just as dangerous whatever the temperature. So it could mean ‘burn with love’
If the lion having green eyes is irrelevant, what point is her trying to make?
If he can see the colour of the lion’s eyes, he is too close
