Sulpicia 3.13 Notes Flashcards
Why were Sulpicia’s poems banned?
They didn’t think they were good poems and were too complex
Who suggests Sulpicia 3.13 was a concluding poem?
Voss 1810
Smith 1913
Tränkle 1990
Do people think Sulpicia thought of publication?
No
How did Smith (1913) say her poems read?
It reads more like an extract from her own diary
What is this poem stating about love?
The triumph and elation of love achieved in a series of bravado statements
Why should lines 7-8 be scrutinised?
It is normal for writing tablets to be kept sealed for confidentiality but Sulpicia wants everyone to know
What were emblems of poetry?
Books, tablets and pages
What are the wax tablets objects of in Catullus poems?
Pursuit
Poetry that Catullus wants back
The idea of the contents matching or not matching the deluxe materials they were made of
What do her ‘unsealed tablets’ suggest?
Her tablets are open/ published
Who is the implied reader?
The snooping messenger reading the unsealed writing tablets
What are the wax tablets a symbol of in Propertius and Sulpicia?
The impromptu nature of love elegy
What suggests Propertius is alluding to Sulpicia?
The phraseology about writing tablets is common in both but in Sulpicia, it occurs in one line
What sort of speech has this poem been said to be?
Monologue
What type of verb could ‘ferar’ be?
Subjunctive
Which words are non-committal for an introductory poem?
‘Illum’ and ‘meus’
What else could the non-committal words do?
A designed inducement to the reader to proceed further
Which words have a slight grammar inappropriateness together?
‘Fama’ and ‘nudasse’
What would be an alternative interpretation of line 2 given the grammar and word order inappropriateness?
‘Than the fact that’
What sort of infinitives are present?
Subject infinitives
How could lines 1-2 be a pun on Amor?
‘Tandem venit Amor’ Sounds like a statement in a Cletic hymn to summon Amor
What characteristic is Cupid suggested to have?
Naked
What is Sulpicia playing with with regards to Amor?
The thought of clothing and unclothing Amor
What is ‘tego’ the opposite of?
‘Nudo’
What is ‘tego’ idiomatic for?
‘Vestio’ which means ‘to clothe’
What is the paradox?
Clothing Amor in shame
What does the phrase with Camenis remind us of?
The incantation of Daphnis
What can Amor not mean?
A lover
Who is ‘Illum’ in line 3?
Cerinthus
Is there a delay in showing the identity of Cerinthus?
Yes which could be artful or artfulness
What could lines 3-4 be a parallel to?
A Sappho poem 1 (he entreated Aphrodite and did in the past)
What is the parallel with delivery a lover?
Aphrodite rescues Paris in Homer
What is a common verb in elegies?
‘Exorare’
Who is Cytherea?
Aphrodite
What pattern of nouns and adjectives is in line 3?
ABAB
What device is ‘Camena’?
Metonymy
Who are the Camenae known as?
Muses
Do the Camenae have elevated status?
Yes
What does Sulpicia suppose Venus has promisd?
Success in love
‘Fidem exsolvere’ has parallels with what?
Cicero and Tacitus
What is Sulpicia saying in lines 5-6?
If anyone did not believe in the possibility of fulfilment in love after their own experience, look to Sulpicia’s experience to see it exists
Could refer to envious people
Or ‘let over-strict old men talk I don’t care’
Why does Sulpicia not care what people say about her love life?
Venus has fulfilled her promises and her love life is up and running
What sort of talk does Sulpicia expect will happen if people discovered her love affair?
Gossip and hostile talk
Who does Sulpicia think has ‘had no joys’ and not experienced love?
The older generation
‘Over-strict old men’
Where is the colloquial double negative?
‘Ne… nemo’ litotes?
What is stylistic on lines 7-8?
‘Meus’ instead of ‘my man’ is ‘lovers’ language
What does ‘peccasse’ normally refer to?
Extra-marital sex
What does she mean by ‘put on a face for respectability’?
Model their features on hers and she will be a role model
Put on a grave look
What has Sulpicia done to the phrase about composing faces for respectability?
She has added ‘famae’ to an idiomatic phrase against it’s normal idiom
How did Tränkle interpret the case of ‘famae’?
Predicative dative
What does ‘cum digno digna’ recall?
Idioms
What is a cycle poet?
A recurring period of time in which certain events or phenomena occur and reach completion or repeat themselves in a regular sequence
How is the last line representing a cycle poem?
‘Digno digna’ stimulates cycle poetry in poem 3.12 lines 9-10
Where is there a euphemism?
‘Esse cum aliquo’
What sort of statement is the line about reporting her joys to those deprived and those saying they have no joy?
Indirect statement
What could the indirect statement show?
She is concerned about what other people are saying
Where is there enjambment?
‘Exsoluit’?
‘Taedet’
What is the effect of enjambment of ‘taedet’?
Emphasises how fed up she is
Where was line 7 thought to be from?
Propertius
Where does word positioning reinforce meaning?
‘Mea’ and ‘sua’ are at opposite ends of the same sentence to show how far apart they are
Where is there tmesis? Why?
‘Quam… ante’ for scansion or fractitious effect
Which ‘dignum’ on the last line refers to Sulpicia?
‘Digna’
What does the penultimate line suggest about her?
She now has a good reputation after a previously bad one
What are Sulpicia’s main thoughts?
Her reputation and her love
What shows the importance of love to Sulpicia?
Venus mentioned twice at the beginning to show the importance of love
What sort of love is she talking about keeping quiet?
A less-established love
What does the idea of her lap suggest?
Intimacy
What do the promises suggest?
Commitment
What is the concept of Venus promising Sulpicia?
Love poetry is honouring Venus so she owes Sulpicia something
What does Sulpicia mean by ‘worthy’?
Not out of her league and vice versa
In referring to worthiness and using specifically two of the same word with different endings (polyptoton of ‘digna’?) what does this show?
The equality of sexual freedom
If reputation is important to Sulpicia, what do we question?
Her control
What is thought to be the build up to this poem?
Sulpicia and Cerinthus quarrel, he protests that he does love her and she is convinced so writes this poem
Which verb is hard to tell if it is past or present tense?
‘Venit’
What sort of construction is ‘pudori, mihi’?
Double dative construction
Who is ‘illum’?
Cerinthus
Why is Venus known as Cytherea?
She was born on the island of Cytherea
Who are the Camenae?
Italian goddesses associated with music and were invoked like when Greek poets call upon the Muses
What does Sulpicia have camenis?
They are personifying her songs
Which line is almost a golden line? Why almost?
3 but the central word is a pronoun not a verb
Where does word order shape meaning?
‘Deposuitque’ is literally between ‘nostrum’ and ‘sinum’
Who does ‘nostrum’ refer to?
Sulpicia only
What is confusing about ‘sinus’?
Is it literal or figurative?
What is ‘narret, dicetur’?
Mixed conditional
Who is ‘meus’?
Cerinthus
Why did she not write ‘meus puer’?
Refers to a slave which is not what she wants to say
Which line has strong negation? Is this litotes or reinforcement?
- Litotes?
What case is ‘famae’?
Dative
What type of verb is ‘ferar’ more likely to be than future indicative?
Subjunctive
