Propertius 3.23 Notes Flashcards
What could have happened to his writing tablets which he is refusing to admit?
She may have held onto them and refused to reply due to his message
How can we tell where the tablets are?
The nature of the message he sent suggests she could have taken umbrage
What is this poem acting as?
The message posted as a public report of his loss
Where could the tablets be?
With him because he is refusing to accept the answer he received or that she refuses to answer so still has them
What was this poem inspiration for?
Ovid’s amores
Where are we at the beginning of this poem?
In media res
Where is there personification?
‘Tam doctae’
What are the tablets an epithet for?
The muses
Why did Propertius not sign his tablets?
To save the embarrassment if they fell into the wrong hands e.g. a jealous husband
What is the idea with his former usage?
The tablets were so scarred, the scars were familiar as his tablets
What does he mean by ‘without my help’?
The tablets could pacify a woman or angry mistress just by it’s familiar arrival rather than what was written as a sign of pleading for reconciliation
What does he mean by ‘gold fittings’?
Tablets were articles of luxury with citrus wood or ivory for example
Which word adds to the personification of the tablets?
‘Promeruere’
Who are the questions from?
His girl
What is the tone of the first question?
Playfully petulant
What is the tone of the second question?
Worried and aggrieved
What is the tone of the third question?
Apologetic and anxious to clear herself
What could the ‘unkind slander’ be about?
Her infidelity
What can we infer from him being delayed in arriving at her place?
He didn’t arrive
What is ‘lente’?
An accusation of their indifference. He is slow but but she is not
What does ‘an’ pick up in line 13?
‘Forsitan’
Is line 13 more likely to be a statement of a question? Why?
Statement because the next line is
What is the effect of ‘Venies’?
Gives a note of intimacy and plans for the future, assuming something will be done
What is she doing instead of fixing a time?
Writing a love letter
Which two phrases are particularly ambiguous?
‘Non stulta’
‘Garrula’
In terms of which words they go with
What is significant about the tablets being with an old man’s dire ledgers?
They are being filed where they will not be called back into use quickly e.g. Pompeii banker L. Caecilius. Iucundus wrote on tablets and kept them in a chest
Who does ‘puer’ commonly refer to?
A slave
Explain the idea with the columns
In Pompeii, public notices were painted on any wall surface in a busy street while in Herculaneum that was rare. Rules governing use of public buildings but maybe certain columns or spaces in public porticoes set aside for the purpose of displaying public notices
What is Esquiline?
Newer residential district of Rome in Augustus’ extension of Pomoerium. Where Propertius’ house was and probably not very fashionable
What is his media?
His tablets
What could the gold fixings represent?
The gold written on the tablets
What does he mean by producing a good effect?
Good results
What sort of words could be written on the tablets in response?
Forceful words
Rebukes
Insults
What does she mean by ‘laggard’?
Slow coach
Lazy bones
What is inferred when she asks about unkind slander?
She did not get his humour
What is significant about ‘reperit’?
Suggests deceit
Where is there litotes?
‘Non stulta’
Using a negative to reinforce her intelligence
Which parts link to Ovid’s poem?
The old man writing ‘accounts’ on the tablets and the ‘dire ledgers’
As well as the tablets, what else does he exaggerate that he has lost?
The Muses
Which word is contracted?
‘Periere’
Why is ‘usus’ at the end of the line?
Delays why they are worn to emphasise how much he used them
Why does he talk about the tablets being ‘ordinary’?
It was what was written on them that made them special and impressive
What was there repetition of? Why?
‘Semper’
Gives a wistful (longing) eulogy effect
What else gives a wistful effect?
‘Tam’ and ‘tot’
Why is there enjambment of ‘tu’?
Shows gossip flowing and makes it stand out - like gossip does
Where is there a pattern on line 13?
‘An tibi’ and ‘an tu’ frame the line to put more focus in him as if he has done something really wrong
What does he mean by ‘setting a time’?
Talking hour
Where is there deceit?
Her setting a time with ‘flattering wiles’
Where is there separative patterning?
Line 13
‘Aliquis… avarus’
What is significant about ‘inter’?
It is literally in between the ‘dire’ and the ‘ledgers’
Who was Propertius influenced by for the separative patterning?
Callimachus
