Jealousy Takes Over Flashcards
Background of the poem
> Gives Lesbia her name.
A translation of a Greek poem by Sappho.
Possibly his first poem to Lesbia.
Themes of the poem
Physical and emotional jealousy.
What does the word ‘videtur’ (seems) convey in this poem?
Catullus is more interested in how the man appears than the truth.
‘Si fas est’
If it is right
Catullus has to cover himself lest he break the law of the Gods (called Fas).
Use of ‘identem’
repeatedly
Not in the original Greek- conveys the poet’s jealousy.
‘Sedens’ ‘spectat’ ‘audit’
Sits, looks at you, hears you
The man only has to sit there and listen to her speak to make Catullus jealous.
contrast between ‘dulce ridentem’ and ‘misero’
laughing sweetly, miserable.
Her laughter makes him miserable.
‘eripit’ word placement.
burst
Emotional word placed at the beginning of the line for emphasis.
‘eripit sensus mihi: nam simul te,
Lesbia, aspexi, nihil est super mi
vocis in ore’
Mihi and mi are placed before and after the words tu and Lesbia, indicating how he would like to have her in his arms.
‘lingua sed torpet, tenuis sub artus’
but my tongue is paralysed, a slender flame
line has a ABCBA structure.
‘sonitu suopte’ ‘tintinant’
my ears ring with their own sound
The use of sound imagery adds to the vividness of the illness.
‘gemina’
double
adds force to the darkness that this illness has cast over him.
‘otium’ ‘otio’ ‘otium’
Repeating this word in different forms (polyptoton) emphasises his point and is meant to force himself out of his self-pity.
