Lygdamus 3.3 Flashcards
quid prodest
anaphora
shows scepticism and impotence
quid prodest caelumvotis implesse, Naeara,
What help Naeara to have glutted the heavens with vows
contraction (implevisse). The line is all spondaic, so it has been contracted to be mournful.
blandaque… tura
winning incense
incense that is persuasive to the Gods.
tecti
dwelling
synechdoche- actually means roof tiles
insignis clara
illustrious and famed
pleonasm- both mean the same thing
conspicuusque domo
my resplendant house
perhaps referring to his famous lineage, not his literaly house.
i.e. the House of Asarracus
aut ut multa mei renovarent iugera tauri
or that bulls of mine plow anew many an acre
multa mei renovarent iugera tauri has the same structure as a golden line- ABVAB (chiasmus)
Iugera
(many an) acre
the iugerum is an agrarian measure of about 1/4 of a hectare.
sed tecum
but with you
shifts focus of the poem onto Naeara
sociarem gaudia
share the joys
euphamism for sex
inque tuo caderet nostra senecta sinu
and in your lap my old age fall to end
caderet- usually implies a military death, which was considered a noble death. Instead he is rejecting this in favour of the simple life, but still enforcing the noble connotations.
also hyperbaton- tuo and sinu are seperated and nostra is in between. Putting him in her lap
permenso defunctus tempore lucis
with the completion of my light’s full time
pleonasm- emphasises the finality of death.
nudus
naked
adds pathos- hes even stripped of his clothes
Lethaea
Lethe’s boat is that of Charon the ferryman of the underworld who transports dead shades across the River Acheron of the underworld.
Letheaus used poetically refers to waters and rivers of the underworld. Not a particular reference to the river Lether, which is associated with forgetting your life on earth.
cogerer ire rate
I’d have to travel on (Lethe’s) boat
repetition of r creates a growling sound possibly suggesting the spirits are angry at their fate. The dead are forced on their journey.
what do lines 11-24 do?
Catalogue the poet’s disdain for wealth.
Phrygiis…Taenare…Caryste
all regions famous for their marble
Phrygian
= Trojan. Region of central/western Asia Minor.
marble is white w. reddish veins. Highly prized.
Taenarus
Cape at the extreme southwest of the Peloponnese. Famous for its temple to Poseidon. Marble is red coloured ‘rosso antico’
Carystus
A town on the southern coast of the Aegean island of Euboea. Famed as the source of ‘cipollino’ marble. parallel white and green lines like an onion.
Taenare sive tuis, sive Caryste tuis
Or, Taenarus, yours, or yours, Carystus, too
polysyndeton of ‘sive’ emphasises listing.
et nemora in domibus sacros imitantia lucos
and within my dwelling woods that resemble sacred groves
sign of wealth to have a garden inside your house.
aurataeque trabes
and gilded beams
(coffered ceilings)
great symbol of luxury. Frequently lined w. gold cloth and inlaid with ivory.
aurataeque trabes marmoreumque solum
and gilded beams and a pavement made of marble
polysyndeton
quidve in Erythraeo legitur quae litore concha
tinctaque Sidonio murice lana iuvat
What help the pearl shell gathered on Erythrea’s shore.
or wool soaked in Sidon’s purple dye
mentioning exotic products from the east is a well known poetic device to allude to riches.
Erythraea
Modern day Arabian Sea
litore
the part of the sea that borders the land, rather than the part of the land that borders the sea
concha
pearl
concha = shell= pearl.
Latin for pearl is actually margarita, so hard to fit into metre
Sidonio
Tyre, Modern Day lebanon
levantur
made lighter
example of zeugma (when one word applies to two phrases). The mens worries were (not) relieved and their minds are (not) freed.
Fortuna
personified
sit mihi paipertas tecum iucunda, Naeara:
focus turns from the mob to him and his gal, so starts using lots of personal pronouns from here on out.
paupertas
poverty
actually means lack of wealth rather than genuine poverty
regum munera
the opulence of kings
poss. referring to the Palace of Alcinous described in the Odyssey, famous for its luxury gifts thatAlcinous bestowed on Odysseus upon his departure.
o mihi …
starts off a series of accusatives of interjection reinforced by ‘o’ to express strong emotion.
terque quaterque
threefold, fourfold
polysyndeton
At si, pro dulci
Hiatus after first foot. unusual.
audia aversa non meus aure deus
a hostile god should fail to hear, ear ill disposed…
alliterative a: pleasant sound because it is describing a happy thing- her return.
internal rhyme of meus deus. Link between him and gods.
nec me regna iuvant nec Lydius aurifer amnis
nec quas terrarum sustinet orbis opes
Neither kingdoms please me, nor Lydia’s gold filled stream, nor the wealth which the circle of the world supports
use of negative listing, highlighting how everything makes him unhappy except for her.
Lydia’s stream- river near the Aegean coast of Turkey. The river rises from Mount Tmolus, flows through the ruins of the ancient city of Sardis, and empties into the Gediz River, the ancient Hermus. The Pactolus once contained electrum (alloy of gold and silver) that was the basis of the economy of the ancient state of Lydia. According to legend, King Midas divested himself of the golden touch by washing himself in the river. The historian Herodotus claimed that the gold contained in the sediments carried by the river was the source of the wealth of King Croesus.
liceat mihi paupere cultu
securo cara coniuge posse frui
let me but live in poor man’s style
to enjoy without worry the dearness of my wife.
emphatic word placement. liceat mihi (let me) and posse frui (to be able to) frame the things he wants the most.
securo cara coniuge- alliteration of ‘c’, shows his determination to get what he wants
Adsis et timidis faueas, Saturnia, uotis,
et faueas concha, Cypria, uecta tua.
Stay near, Juno, kindly to my fearful prayers,
and kindly, too, Venus, travelling on your shell
Appeals to Juno first, THEN Venus. Interested in longlasting love over desire.
Hyperbaton- the goddesses names mess up the word order. Shows their importance that they disrupt the structure.
tristeque sorores
and the sad sisters
describing the fates.
sad is an epithet for them.
stamina quae ducunt quaeque futura neunt
who draw out our threads and spin our destiny
repetition of ‘quae’ to show their importance
in vastos amnes nigra-…
vast black streams
bit describing the marshes is spondaic
dives
riches
last line starts with riches. Coincidence? I think not
