Poem 20: Analysis Flashcards
Cynthia prima suis miserum me cepit ocellis, contactum nullis ante cupidinibus. (1-2)
Lines 1-2: explains Prop and his love
- ‘Cynthia’ - first word of poem, all about her, so important she’s the first word
- ‘prima’ - this is Prop’s first love affair
- ‘miserum me’ - unusual word order, not ‘me miserum - in general, typical of poet, unhappy in his love
- ‘cepit’ - ‘capture’ - strong military style term, suggestive of violence. She evokes overwhelming effect on Prop, subverts usual notion male being being pursuer, she captures him
- ‘suis ocellis’ - Cynthia’s eyes are striking, diminutive form shows fondness. Just as Lesbia famous for her eyes, that too is Cynthia’s best feature.
- ‘contactum ‘ - love being an infection/disease, contagious
- Prop hadn’t loved before Cyn.
tum mihi constantis deiecit lumina fastus et caput impositis pressit Amor pedibus, (3-4)
Lines 3-6: God Amor has violently made Prop fall in love and forget his past plans for loyal girls
- ‘constantis fastus’ - ‘ of steady arrogance’ - Prop was unexperienced, cocky & caught y surprise. Unaware of power of love. Though he was about mere love!
- ‘impositis pedibus’ - ‘With his feet planted’ - both of Love’s feet, plural, more pressure, force & violence. Violent, harsh love
- ‘pressit’ - ‘firmly pressed down’ - ‘firm’ shows force, jump on almost
- ‘caput’ - ‘on my head’ - Prop doesn’t know what hit him, v painful
- ‘Amor’ - love personified as male & troublesome
donec me docuit castas odisse puellas improbus, et nullo vivere consilio. (5-6)
- ‘donec.. puellas’ - Cyn. isn’t chaste, not usual respectful girl. Exciting that he no longer interested in girls who would make good wife - forced to abandon conventional path through life by Love
- ‘improbus’ - ‘impudently’ - harshly, rudely, cocky (love) - because he can make Prop feel however he wants him to
- ‘et nullo vivere consilio’ - ‘and to live my life by no plan’ - doesn’t follow to marry nice chaste girl. Career plan (military?) could no longer do this?
ei mihi, iam toto furor hic non deficit anno, cum tamen adversos cogor habere deos. (7-8)
Lines 7-8: Prop’s felt this way for v long time, he’s mad
- ‘furor hic’ - ‘this madness’ - love is form of madness. Prop affected with this madness (common trope). Power of love which affected lover’s ability to reason logically
- ‘iam toto anno’ - ‘for a whole year - been mad for over a year! Been in love with her for so long - we are thrown into middle of everything
- ‘adversos.. deos’ - ‘I am forced to have the gods against me’ - if things going against him means gods are against him (no success in this). Prop constantly suffering, no respite from gods.
Milanion nullos fugiendo, Tulle, labores saevitiam durae contudit Iasidos. (9-10)
Lines 9-14: to show difficult Prop is finding this love thing, tells myth (Greek) of Atalanta and Milanion, not traditional version. Draws on mythical story to explain situation (typical)
- ‘nullos fugiendo labores’ - ‘it was not by avoiding hard effort’ - hard work does it for Milanion, implied contrast, doesn’t seem to do it for Prop?
- ‘Tulle’ - friend of Prop that he was prob talking to
- ‘saevitiam durae Iasidos’ - refers to myth to explore his angst. Prop in same position as Milanion was. But he managed to win Atalanta.
- ‘saevitiam’ - ‘ferocity’ - she was fierce in what she said, no
- ‘durae’ - ‘harsh’ - she was hard to get
- ‘contudit’ - ‘crushed’ - violent, harsh word. So too is love.
nam modo Partheniis amens errabat in antris, rusus in hirsutas ibat et ille feras; (11-12)
- ‘Partheniis.. in antris’ - ‘when he was wandering in his madness through the caves of Parenthia’ - link earlier in poem. Prop. Struggling w madness - Milanion similarly out of mind with love. Wandering the wilderness, moaning aloud as a remedy fo love used by Callimachus. Prop depends on our knowledge to play games with our expectations.
- ‘amens errabat’ - prop paints word picture. Milanion (amens errabat) lit inside the ‘Partheniis.. antris’ through hyperbaton
- ‘rusus ibat ille’ - ‘he went again’ - Atalanta was hunters, Milanion’s choice to head into wilderness to impress her w hunting prowess?
ille etiam Hylaei percussus vulnere rami saucius Arcadiis rupibus ingemuit. (13-14)
- ‘Hylaei.. saucius’ - ‘strucl by a wound caused by Hylaeus’s club’ - Hylaeus (centaur w less than honourable intentions) was attacking Atalanta. Milanion wounded in his attempt to help, this allows Atalanta to fall in love
- filed attempt but gets girl because he attempted & put them off their trail - he tried, this was part of his ‘hard effort’
ergo velocem potuit domuisse puellam: tantum in amore fides et benefacta valent. (15-16)
Lines 15-18: to show contrast with Milanion, Prop tells of his situation
- ‘velocem puellam’ - ‘swift girl’ - hyperbaton. Hints at other erosion of myth to amuse reader, but creates strong contrast with his situation with Cyn. Love for him is SLOW. Cyn stays ahead in race - Prop has no divine help (gods). In other version Atalanta was ‘swift’/fast. Hyperbaton emphasises.
- ‘fides et benefacta’ - ‘loyalty & good deeds’ - just like Cat, Prop wants kindness & loyalty to gain him ‘gratia’ of love. But love in real life is not fairytale.
- ‘in amore’ - giving life lesson, this works in realm of myths, not in reality
in me tardus Amor non ullas cogitat artes, nec meminit notas, ut prius, ire vias. (17-18)
- ‘tardus Amor’ - ‘Love is slow’ - in myth Atalanta famously says NO. Suggests Cyn been saying NO for whole year? No wonder Prop feels like Love is trampling on his head! Feels like cannot win. - shows Cyn has dramatic yet unpleasant effect Prop
- ‘non.. artes’ - ‘and does not think up any plan of action’ - prop still stuck in same phase & its been a year - nothing working out
- ‘nec.. vias’ - ‘nor does it remember to go along well-known routes, as before.’ - image of love failing to repeat old fairy-tale patterns of happily ever after, esp for Prop who badly wants it
But you whose trick it is to lure the moon from heaven, and task to solemnize rites in magic altar-fire, come change my mistress’ mind and make her face blanche paler than my own! — then I shall believe that you can draw the stars and rivers with Colchian spells. (19-24) (eng section)
- ‘whose trick’ - Prop bitterly & without hope calls on supernatural, witches. Usually wouldn’t go along with magic, spells & witches but is so desperate would do anything (we see more later). If they can turn Cyn he believes they can do anything
- ‘lure the moon from heaven.. magic altar-fire.. then I shall believe that you can draw the stars and rivers with Colchian spells.’ - Prop witty il y implies that making Cyn love him would be the most impressive trick of all.
- ‘Come change.. my own!’ - Prop wants witches to are Cynthia understand his pain (and change her mind)
And, friends, that call me back from decline, seek out the remedies for unsound hearts: I shall bear with fortitude cauterization and knife, if only I’m free to speak as my anger wants. Carry me through the farthest peoples and seas, where never a woman can follow my spoor.’ (25-30)
- ‘remedies.. fortitude cauterization and knife’ - prop visualises love as disease, this time requiring radical surgery. Image is vivid & suggestive of Prop suffering.
- hints at judicial torture of a slave - picking up his lack of freedom in next line.
- if they can’t make Cyn fall in line then he’d happily endure the pain of a cure for love - willing to get surgery to rid this love - disease.
- ‘if only I’m free’ - Prop feels unable to speak of his difficult in case Cyn becomes even ore distant.
- ‘Carry me through.. my spoor’ - rather than being willing to follow his girl to the ends of the earth, Prop, ironically sees it as his only escape. Nod to Cat’s ends of earth poem too (rude one)
- he will leave town if the witches & surgery fails
- ‘spoor’ - referring to scent - he’ll be so far away that Cyn won’t be able to follow him vis his scent
Stay, to whom the god inclines a compliant ear: be always nicely matched in a safe love. Our Venus plies bitter nights against me, and at no time does Love either rest or cease. Be warned, avoid my woe. Let each be held by his own suit, don’t change the seat of accustomed love! But if anyone heeds my warning too late, alas, how grievously he will recall my words. (31-38)
- ‘to whom the god inclines a compliant ear’ - those whom Love (Venus/Cupid) has been kind to - those whose love is reciprocated or who are in a stable relationship
- ‘compliant ear.. safe love’ - may not be an eventful love you have, but stay & keep the safe love - don’t change it, you don’t know when it might change - don’t undermine safe love
- ‘be always nicely matched in a safe love.. don’t change the seat o accustomed love!’ - Prop strata’s to give advice to others. Don’e be tempted to stray or go for the hard to get girls. Is this self-interest advice, reduce his competition?
1-2: falling in love
- ‘Cynthia prima cepit’ - Cynthia was the first to capture
- ‘suis ocellis’ - with her eyes
- ‘contactum nullis ante cupidinibus’ - who previous was untouched/uninfected by love
3-5: power of love
- ‘tum mihi constantis deiecit lumina fastus Amor’ - then Love cast down my gaze of steady arrogance
- caput impositis pressit pedibus’ - with his feet planted firmly pressed down on my head
10-17: Milanion won Atalanta’s love
- ‘saevitiam durae contudit Iasidos’ - that he crushed the ferocity of the harsh daughter of Iasus
- ‘ergo velocem potuit domuisse puellam’ - therefore he was able to tame the swift girl
- ‘tantum in amore fides et benefacta valent’ - loyalty & good deeds can have success in love
