Sulpicia 3.13

Question 1

How is this poem written

Answer 1

in natural address- to the reader. Demonstrates she is confident in revealing her love.

Question 2

texisse…nudasse…habuisse…pecasse

to have hidden…to have exposed…to have had…to have committed a fault

Answer 2

perfect infinitives

common theme through the poem- stylistic flair + sulpicia uses it to share her love with everyone.

Question 3

nostrum deposuitque sinum

and deposited him in my lap

Answer 3

word placement. He has been deposited literally in her lap

Question 4

Exorata meis illum Cytherea Camenis
Having been prayed to by my muses
the Cytherean…

Answer 4

emphatic ‘illum’ (that) for reference to her lover.
Cytherea Camenis - emphasis of the drastic steps being taken.
Refers to the muses and Venus- her love is blessed by the gods.

Question 5

sinum

lap

Answer 5

also can mean bosom - intimacy

Question 6

Who is Cytherea?

Answer 6

Venus, because of her birth on the island of Cythera- today Kythira, an island south of the Peloponnese.

Question 7

mea gaudia

my joy

Answer 7

put next to each other- emphasises her possession of joy.

Emphasises her happiness in love

Question 8

Dicetur si quis non habuisse sua

let her report my joys to them

Answer 8

V. open phrasing- encouraging anyone to admire their relationship.

Question 9

mea gaudia narret,
Dicetur si quis non habuisse sua
if anyone can be said not to have had their own joys
let her report my joys to them

Answer 9

mea and sua frame the sentence, contrasting her happiness with the plainness of others.

Question 10

tmesis

Answer 10

the separation of parts of a compound word by an intervening word or words, used mainly in informal speech for emphasis

Question 11

ne legat id nemo

not no one might read…

Answer 11

doble negative to reinforce distrust

Question 12

quam meus ante

…it before my man

Answer 12

tmesis

quam ante is split. Emphasis of someone else reading it first.

Question 13

…vultus componere famae
Taedat:
But it pleases me to have stepped out of line – it wearies me
I will be reported to have been worthy with someone worthy.

Answer 13

Enjambment- emphasises how fed up she is- the line drags on. (plus line 7 is entirely spondaic)

Question 14

Camenis

Answer 14

Roman/Italian godesses associated w. music. Sulpicia has plural because they embody her song- they are a means, not an active agent.

Question 15

Themes of 3.13

Answer 15

reputation

the price of love