Monday, September 28, 2009

Catullus 43

Each poem that Catullus writes seems to bring out something new about his personality. This one was, by far, showing a more hostile side of himself. He mocks a girl, who isn't even named, to be nothing compared to his beloved Lesbia. He even goes so far as to declare his generation to be tasteless and boorish. He throws out any description that sounds unpleasant (the strangest would have to be her lack of a dry mouth) and makes her seem as unappealing as possible.
Lesbia is like a goddess to him, so comparing her to some nobody wannabe brought out the worst in Catullus.

Haiku for this Poem :)

Oh this tasteless age,
thinking this girl is pretty;
Lesbia's better.

Catullus 7

This poem, unlike the others where we continue to truly question what the exact relationship is between Catullus and Lesbia, makes it clear that something romantic is going on. At first, it seems like Catullus is your basic creeper who's head over heels for a girl and wishes for them to be together forever. In this poem, the kisses give off the major clue that Lesbia has similar feelings for Catullus despite being married to that mule of a guy.
Something that immediately caught my attention and sparked interest was the last line about that "curious eyes" and "evil tongue." The first thing that jumps into my mind are the outside world and what most people hate even today: gossipers. This further helps to make the assumption that this love is a forbidden and secretive one.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Catullus 109

This poem comes off with an entirely different tone from the others. In it, Lesbia has apparently promised Catullus a true and happy love between them. Catullus comes off as a more friendly, less creepy character, as he begs the Gods for her words to be true and for their sacred eternal pact of friendship to last for their life. He wants them to be close with one another, and for once, he isn't snooping around or looking at her from afar. Overall, the poem is a lot more sincere and shows the relationship between Lesbia and Catullus to be one that's more friendly than 83, where she curses him nonstop in front of her husband. This also raises suspicion if Lesbia really does have stronger feelings for Catullus than she first let off to believe.

Catullus 83

With this poem, love continues to be more of an issue than an actual good thing. Catullus is spoken badly of by Lesbia while her husband is around, making him feel happy even though he is being thrown insults at. He thinks, however, that Lesbia's anger toward him is a good thing, and calls her husband a fool to think she means what she says. In general, everyone seems to be hurts from this strange love triangle. Lesbia may be having to hide her true feelings, the husband might be cheated on without knowing it, and Catullus is in love with someone who is unavailable.
What else is odd in this poem, is the fact that Catullus is happy that Lesbia shows such heated emotions for him, and thinks it's better for her to hate him rather than not knowing his existence. He takes this as a sign that she burns for him, which makes Catullus come off a creep once more. Still, the reader is unsure if Lesbia truly does have feelings, other than hate, for Catullus.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Catullus Poems

For the first Catullus poem, about how the man with the girl he loves is like a God because he gets to be be with her, it makes love seem like a disease almost. Your tongue being broken, your skin has thin flames under it, you hear bells ringing, you see nothing, and all those other symptoms of being hit with cupid's arrow. At the end he even mentions "At some times death isn't far from me." I haven't experienced any of these symptoms for love, but by the way it sounds, love can be a pretty painful and odd experience.
Again in the second poem, the connection between love and pain is made, when Catullus wishes for the sparrow to be with him and take his mind off the "gloomy cares of my heart." The woman with the sparrow provokes it to bite her hard, and being bitten by a bird isn't as painless as it might seem to some.
So far these poems also make it so Catullus longs for love and has a particular person he wants to be with, but isn't with. Love is most likely a huge topic for him, as well as the problems that come with the longing for it.