Propertius 2.19 Notes Flashcards

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1
Q

What is this poem about?

A

Sorrow at Cynthia’s departure from Rome but in the consolation that she will be clean and pure in the safe and simple country

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2
Q

What is an alternative view about this poem?

A

He is delighted she is out of town and while she is bored he is enjoying his freedom

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3
Q

What could ‘laetor sine me’ also mean?

A

I am glad I am not going too

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4
Q

What are the sections this poem is split into?

A

The first half about the country life for Cynthia, then what he will be doing and then a conclusion

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5
Q

What is a distich?

A

A couplet

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6
Q

Where is the double negative? What does it mean?

A

‘Nulla neque’

‘Absolutely not’

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7
Q

What will Cynthia be missing?

A

Young lovers, his blandishments and others fighting over her and with her

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8
Q

What strong negatives are present at the beginning section?

A

‘Nullus’
‘Nulla’
‘Neque’
‘Nec’

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9
Q

Where is there alliteration of ‘s’ and ‘p’?

A

‘Sola eris et solos spectabis, Cynthia, montis et pecus et finis pauperis agricolae’

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10
Q

Which distich returns to the negative theme?

A

‘Illic te nulli poterunt corrumpere ludi fanaque peccatis plurima causa tuis’

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11
Q

What was a ‘fana’?

A

A sanctuary temple where girls would have their fun

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12
Q

What contrasts ‘peccatis plurima’?

A

‘Pecus pauperis’

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13
Q

What contrast is made between ‘peccatis plurima’ and ‘pecus pauperis’?

A

She will have ‘pecus’ not ‘peccatis’

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14
Q

What is reminiscent of verse 7?

A

‘Illic assidue tauros spectabis arantis et vitem docta ponere falce comas’
‘S’ sounds and repetition of ‘spectabis’

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15
Q

What does he actually mean about her imitating choral dances?

A

She is trying to pretend but no matter how hard she tries, she will still be alone

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16
Q

What is ironic about the ‘strange man’ that is mentioned?

A

The point is that she will be alone with only mountains and cattle to look at with no other men otherwise action would be created

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17
Q

What are the two levels in the concluding section?

A

1) He is glad she will be where she cannot misbehave but she must be careful in case an outsider should appear
2) She will be miserably isolated, alone and with nothing to do

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18
Q

What contrasts the boring life Cynthia will have in the country?

A

The action if his life hunting

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19
Q

What two senses can ‘venabor’ have?

A

Literall and metaphorical as in what is he actually hunting?

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20
Q

What are the two meanings of ‘suscipere’ and why?

A

To take up things sacred to Diana e.g. hunting and to take up things sacred to Cynthia e.g. sexual promiscuity because the goddess Diana was also called the goddess Cynthia which links to Propertius’ mistress

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21
Q

What are the two ideas behind ‘Veneri ponere vota’?

A

‘To lay aside the worship of Venus’ and ‘to make offerings to Venus’

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22
Q

What could the object of the hunt be? How could we tell?

A

Erotic pleasures. If ‘Veneri’ meant ‘to take up the worship of Venus’ to link to ‘venabor’

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23
Q

What has Propertius deliberately done with ‘Veneri’?

A

Used it deliberately as ‘Veneris’ would be expected. Propertius wants us to stick on the phrase and wonder what else he might mean

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24
Q

In the first half of the poem, what does Propertius think of Cynthia?

A

Retains enforced and unwanted virtue

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25
Q

Where are there sexual inuendos?

A

‘Reddere pinu cornua’

‘Figere avem calamo stricto’

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26
Q

What could the ‘feras’ be?

A

Girls who are free to be promiscuous

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27
Q

What could the ‘canes’ be?

A

Testes

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28
Q

What is he suggesting overall with the inuendos?

A

He will undertake to find some girls and engage them sexually

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29
Q

What does the correctness of the inuendos interpretation rely on?

A

The validity of the double entendres considering there is limited currency to use such words and the literal sense tends to conceal the metaphorical sense

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30
Q

What supports the interpretation of the inuendos?

A

The double entendres continue the duality idea seen previously. The metaphorical use of words is common in all languages and we can supply examples ourselves

31
Q

What could ‘stricto’ mean?

A

Drawn/ unsheathed

32
Q

What could ‘structo’ mean?

A

Erected

33
Q

What does ‘boves’ contrast?

A

‘Tauros’

34
Q

How does the animal imagery divulge their lives?

A

She will be watching the bulls but in his case there is action

35
Q

What are the two styles this poem is written in?

A

Threatening and teasing

36
Q

What does he actually mean by hurting those who are absent?

A

Cheat on them. Be false to them

37
Q

What are the ideas with ‘silvae’?

A

Recalls double senses of ‘pinu’ and the mossy hills phrase which is similar to the Clitumnus phrase

38
Q

What does he think about his exploits and her reputation?

A

His exploits will not prevent him talking about her and her time away will not improve her reputation

39
Q

Why might he have written such an elegy?

A

To dissuade Cynthia from leaving the city

40
Q

What could he mean by controlling audacious dogs?

A

Controlling sexual urges

41
Q

Where is there litotes?

A

‘Nemo non nocuisse’

42
Q

Which word is emphatic?

A

‘Iam’

43
Q

What sort of infinitives are used a lot?

A

Present infinitives

44
Q

Which sounds are repeated?

A

‘Au’ and soft sounds

45
Q

What do soft sounds have the effect of?

A

Soothing

Not mournful

46
Q

What comparison is given between the country and city?

A

The country is morally pure while the city is old

47
Q

What could ‘rixa’ relate to?

A

A brawl between rivals (more likely), a brawl between a suitor and the doorkeeper or a lover crying to try and attract attention

48
Q

What does he mean by ‘ludi’?

A

Theatre and the circus

49
Q

Where could you often meet girls?

A

Theatres, circuses, religious ceremonies at shrines (particularly oriental ones)

50
Q

What was Cynthia likely to be religiously?

A

A devotee of Isis

51
Q

What must be experienced to be appreciated?

A

The vine dresser and listening to him sing gives a drowsy pleasure

52
Q

What is ‘docta… falce’?

A

Modal ablative

53
Q

What does he mean by ‘pruning hook’s skill’?

A

Vine dressing takes skill and a well-dressed vine is a handsome sight

54
Q

Is the shrine frequently visited?

A

No

55
Q

What is often shown in Roman landscape painting?

A

Woodland shrines

56
Q

When is the goat sacrificed?

A

At a particular festival to Bacchus

57
Q

Which word could be an epithet? How?

A

‘Agrestis’ for ‘on behalf of the fields’

58
Q

Why might the women have bare calves?

A

They were especially lively (most likely answer) or they showed bare legs because they had been working in the fields (in figurative arts, women were shown with long skirts and probably had that for religious ceremonies too)

59
Q

What sort of prayer is present here?

A

Parenthetical

60
Q

Why does he want to go hunting?

A

He might stumble across a sacred rite and see someone (maybe Cynthia) with her bare calves

61
Q

Why is Diana described as ‘sacred’?

A

Relates to her sacred implements e.g. bow and spear

62
Q

Who is he determined to not be like?

A

Hippolytus who worshipped Artemis and excluded Aphrodite

63
Q

What will he dedicate to Venus?

A

Some of his hunting catches

64
Q

What was sacred to Diana?

A

Pine tree

65
Q

What are the horns in terms of Diana’s offering?

A

Spoils of hunting

66
Q

What is the ‘trim rod’ he talks about?

A

The limes reed of a bird catcher, made to a great length by adding reeds to the base to extend to stealthily catch birds at the tops of trees unaware

67
Q

What was at Clitumnus?

A

Clear brooks and airy groves of poplars

68
Q

Why is Propertius particularly fond of Clitumnus?

A

Close to his birth place

69
Q

What can we say about the cattle in Clitumnus?

A

White so almost a special breed themselves

70
Q

What streams could he be talking about?

A

Springs in Clitumnus mossy hillocks where streams pour over and join and divide into islands and pools. Could refer to mountain streams of the Apennines

71
Q

What is he trying to say in the final couplet?

A

While he is hunting, he is still trying to journey to her. He is aware of the risk to her chastity while he is away so informs her he could be near

72
Q

Why does he use ‘mutem’?

A

He doesn’t simply repeat her name but intersperses it with other endearments to address her

73
Q

What type of poem is this?

A

A proempticon- wishing someone a good journey