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
What else stresses the face to face encounter?
Juxtaposition of ‘veniam ob unius’
Who is ‘Amor’?
Cupid, child of Venus
What does the sneezing indicate?
An omen
What does it mean with ‘sinistra ut ante dextra’?
Avoids arguments about who is on the left and who is on the right and who is being sneezed on
What cuts out the possibility of the sneeze being ill-omened?
‘Approbationem’ can only mean ‘approval’
What pattern is created in Acme’s speech?
First mentions her head bending backwards, then him being sweet, then his eyes drunk with love, then her mouth
What is ‘ocellos’?
An affectionate diminutive
What does ‘ebrios’ add?
The idea of swimming suggesting intoxication with love and exhilaration with the experience creating a parallel of drink and sex
What could ‘suaviata’ be derived from?
‘Suavis’ meaning ‘pleasurable’
What does Acme not do that Septimius does?
Face a challenge to prove her love
Who is the ‘one lord’?
Cupid
What are they enslaved to?
The service of a God and relevant to the subservience of a man to his ‘mistress’
What could ‘mollibus’ mean?
‘Feminine’
How is there an ABAB symmetry on lines 15-16?
Fire- soft- burns- bones
What is there alliteration of in lines 15-16?
‘M’
Which two ways on lines 19-20 show the reciprocity of love?
‘Mutuis animis’ and asyndeton of ‘amant amantur’
Line 21 has what sort of structure?
Chiastic phrasing ABBA
What do ‘Syrias’ and ‘Britannias’ represent?
Crassus leading his ill-fated expedition to Syria and Caesar about to invade Britain both in 55BC
What might Syria and Britain be bywords of?
East and West to give doubt about how specific the places are with generalising plurals
How do we know Acme is faithful?
Prefers Septimius to anyone else. Takes pleasure with Septimius and not with others
Who are the rhetorical questions aimed at?
The reader
‘Homines’ includes who?
Men and women
What does ‘auspicatiorem’ show?
A good omen of the sneeze which concluded the first two sections of the poem. Gives closure.
Why else might love have sneezed on everyone?
Greek Acme had different beliefs to Romans as which side (left or right) was luck
How can we tell the first section is masculine?
Plosives
How can we tell the second section is feminine?
More ‘m’ sounds
What did Libya and India mark?
Edges of the empire
Why might Acme’s lips be red?
Adrenaline, kissing or passion
What sort of verb is ‘serviamus’
Iussive subjunctive
What else could ‘animis’ mean?
Soul, heart
