Catullus
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Catullus | |
---|---|
Italy, Roman Republic | |
Died | c. 54 BC (age 29–30) Rome |
Occupation | Poet |
Language | Latin |
Genre | Lyric poetry |
Gaius Valerius Catullus (
Life
Gāius Valerius Catullus was born to a leading
Catullus appears to have spent most of his young adult years in Rome. His friends there included the poets
It was probably in Rome that Catullus fell deeply in love with the "
He spent the provincial command year from summer 57 to summer 56 BC in Bithynia on the staff of the commander Gaius Memmius. While in the East, he traveled to the Troad to perform rites at his brother's tomb, an event recorded in a moving poem.[3]
No ancient biography of Catullus has survived. His life has to be pieced together from scattered references to him in other ancient authors and from his poems. Thus it is uncertain when he was born and when he died.
Poetry
Sources and organization
Catullus's poems have been preserved in an anthology of 116 carmina (the actual number of poems may slightly vary in various editions), which can be divided into three parts according to their form: sixty short poems in varying meters, called polymetra, eight longer poems, and forty-eight epigrams in elegiac couplets. Each of these three parts – 860, 798, 656 lines respectively – would fit onto a single scroll.[10]
There is no scholarly consensus on whether Catullus himself arranged the order of the poems. The longer poems differ from the polymetra and the epigrams not only in length but also in their subjects: There are seven hymns and one mini-epic, or epyllion, the most highly prized form for the "new poets".
The polymetra and the epigrams can be divided into four major
- poems to and about his friends (e.g., an invitation like poem 13).
- bisexual, though the Romans had no labels such as this.
- rhetors, including Cicero.
- 96 comforts a friend in the death of a loved one; several others, most famously 101, lament the death of his brother.
All these poems describe the lifestyle of Catullus and his friends, who, despite Catullus's temporary political post in Bithynia, lived their lives withdrawn from politics. They were interested mainly in poetry and love. Above all other qualities, Catullus seems to have valued venustas, or charm, in his acquaintances, a theme which he explores in a number of his poems. The ancient Roman concept of virtus (i.e., of virtue that had to be proved by a political or military career), which Cicero suggested as the solution to the societal problems of the late Republic, meant little to them.
However Catullus does not reject traditional notions, but rather their particular application to the vita activa of politics and war. Indeed, he tries to reinvent these notions from a personal point of view and to introduce them into human relationships. For example, he applies the word fides, which traditionally meant faithfulness towards one's political allies, to his relationship with Lesbia and reinterprets it as unconditional faithfulness in love. So, despite the seeming frivolity of his lifestyle, Catullus measured himself and his friends by quite ambitious standards.
Intellectual influences
Catullus's poetry was influenced by the innovative poetry of the
Catullus was also an admirer of Sappho, a female poet of the seventh century BC. Catullus 51 partly translates, partly imitates, and transforms Sappho 31. Some hypothesize that 61 and 62 were perhaps inspired by lost works of Sappho but this is purely speculative. Both of the latter are epithalamia, a form of laudatory or erotic wedding-poetry that Sappho was famous for. Catullus twice used a meter that Sappho was known for, called the Sapphic stanza, in poems 11 and 51, perhaps prompting his successor Horace's interest in the form.
Catullus, as was common to his era, was greatly influenced by stories from Greek and Roman myth. His longer poems—such as
Style
Catullus wrote in many different meters including hendecasyllabic verse and elegiac couplets (common in love poetry). A great part of his poetry shows strong and occasionally wild emotions, especially in regard to Lesbia (e.g., poems 5 and 7). His love poems are very emotional and ardent, and are relatable to this day. Catullus describes his Lesbia as having multiple suitors and often showing little affection towards him. He also demonstrates a great sense of humour such as in Catullus 13.
Musical settings
This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2023) |
The Hungarian born British composer
Catullus Dreams (2011) is a song cycle by David Glaser set to texts of Catullus, scored for soprano and eight instruments; it premiered at Symphony Space in New York by soprano Linda Larson and Sequitur Ensemble.[11] "Carmina Catulli" is a song cycle arranged from 17 of Catullus's poems by American composer Michael Linton. The cycle was recorded in December 2013 and premiered at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall in March 2014 by French baritone Edwin Crossley-Mercer and pianist Jason Paul Peterson.[12][13][14]
Catullus 5, the love poem "Vivamus mea Lesbia atque amemus", in the translation by Ben Jonson, was set to music,[when?][19] (lute accompanied song) by Alfonso Ferrabosco the younger.[citation needed] Dutch composer Bertha Tideman-Wijers used Catullus's text for her composition Variations on Valerius "Where that one already turns or turns."[when?][20] The Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson set Catullus 85 to music; entitled "Odi Et Amo", the song is found on Jóhannsson's album Englabörn, and is sung through a vocoder, and the music is played by a string quartet and piano.[when?][citation needed] Catulli Carmina is a cantata by Carl Orff dating from 1943 that sets texts from Catullus to music.[21] Finnish jazz singer Reine Rimón has recorded poems of Catullus set to standard jazz tunes.[when?][citation needed]
Cultural depictions
- The 1888 play Lesbia by Richard Davey depicts the relationship between Catullus and Lesbia, based on incidents from his poems.[22][23]
- Catullus was the main protagonist of the historical novel Farewell, Catullus (1953) by Pierson Dixon. The novel shows the corruption of Roman society.[24][25]
- Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita makes multiple explicit and implicit allusions to Catullus' work.[26]
- W. G. Hardy's novel The City of Libertines (1957) tells the fictionalized story of Catullus and a love affair during the time of Julius Caesar. The Financial Post described the book as "an authentic story of an absorbing era".[27]
- A poem by Catullus is being recited to Cleopatra in the eponymous 1963 film when Julius Caesar comes to visit her; they talk about him (Cleopatra: 'Catullus doesn't approve of you. Why haven't you had him killed?' Caesar: 'Because I approve of him.') and Caesar then recites other poems by him.
- The American poet Louis Zukofsky in 1969 wrote a set of homophonic translations of Catullus that attempted in English to replicate the sound as primary emphasis, rather than the more common emphasis on sense of the originals (although the relationship between sound and sense there is often misrepresented and has been clarified by careful study); his Catullus versions have had extensive influence on contemporary innovative poetry and homophonic translation, including the work of poets Robert Duncan, Robert Kelly, and Charles Bernstein.
- Catullus is the protagonist of Tom Holland's 1995 novel Attis.
- Catullus appears in Steven Saylor's novel The Venus Throw as the embittered ex-lover of Clodia, sister of Publius Clodius Pulcher, whom he calls Lesbia.
See also
- Codex Vaticanus Ottobonianus Latinus 1829
- Poetry of Catullus
- Prosody (Latin)
References
- ^ The bust was commissioned in 1935 by Sirmione's mayor, Luigi Trojani, and produced by the Milanese foundry Clodoveo Barzaghi with the assistance of the sculptor Villarubbia Norri (N. Criniti & M. Arduino (eds.), Catullo e Sirmione. Società e cultura della Cisalpina alle soglie dell'impero (Brescia: Grafo, 1994), p. 4).
- ISBN 9781444339253. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "Gaius Valerius Catullus". Encyclopedia of World Biography. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ^ M. Skinner, "Authorial Arrangement of the Collection", pp. 46–48, in: A Companion to Catullus, Wiley-Blackwell, 2007.
- ^ Suetonius Divus Iulius 73".
- ^ Howe, Quincy Jr. (1970). Introduction to Catullus, The Complete Poems for American Readers. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc. pp. vii to xvii.
- ISBN 9780520242647.
- ^ M. Skinner, "Introduction", p.3, in: A Companion to Catullus, Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
- ^ T.P. Wiseman, "The Valerii Catulli of Verona", in: M. Skinner, ed., A Companion to Catullus, Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
- ^ Dettmer (1997), p. 2. A single scroll usually contained between 800 and 1100 verses.
- ^ "Glaser's Song Cycle To Receive World Premiere At Symphony Space". Yeshiva University. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ McMurtry, Chris (19 August 2014). "New Release: Linton: Carmina Catulli". RefinersFire. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
- ^ "LINTON: Carmina Catulli". www.operanews.com.
- ^ "Priape, Lesbie, Diane et caetera - Forum Opéra". www.forumopera.com.
- ^ "My Sweetest Lesbia | For Better For Verse". Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ "Come and let us live : Samuel Webbe Jr. (c. 1770–1843) : Music score" (PDF). Cpdl.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ "Let us, my Lesbia, live and love : John Stafford Smith (1750-1836) : Music score" (PDF). Cpdl.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "ccm :: Tideman Wijers, Bertha Tideman Wijers". composers-classical-music.com. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ Ball, Timothy (3 July 2003). "Orff's Trionfi - Jochum (DG)". The Classical Source. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ "Our Play-Box: Lesbia". The Theatre. 1 November 1888. pp. 256–257.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Dixon, Pierson (1954). Farewell, Catullus – via Biblio.com.
- ^ Reine Rimón and her Hot Papas jazz band; Gregg Stafford; Tuomo Pekkanen; Gaius Valerius Catullus, Variationes iazzicae Catullianae (in Latin), retrieved 7 October 2013
- JSTOR 441433.
- ^ "The City of Libertines by W. G. Hardy". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. 7 December 1957. p. 38.
Further reading
- Balme, M.; Morwood, J (1997). Oxford Latin Reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Balmer, J. (2004). Catullus: Poems of Love and Hate. Hexham: Bloodaxe.
- Barrett, A. A. (1972). "Catullus 52 and the Consulship of Vatinius". Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. 103: 23–38. JSTOR 2935964.
- Barwick, K. (1958). "Zyklen bei Martial und in den kleinen Gedichten des Catull". Philologus. 102 (1–2): 284–318. S2CID 164713202.
- Calinski, T. (2021). Catull in Bild und Ton - Untersuchungen zur Catull-Rezeption in Malerei und Komposition. Darmstadt: WBG Academic
- Claes, P. (2002). Concatenatio Catulliana, A New Reading of the Carmina. Amsterdam: J.C. Gieben
- Clarke, Jacqueline (2006). "Bridal Songs: Catullan Epithalamia and Prudentius Peristephanon 3". Antichthon. 40: 89–103. S2CID 142365904.
- Coleman, K.M. (1981). "The persona of Catullus' Phaselus". Greece & Rome. N.S. 28: 68–72. S2CID 162206320.
- Dettmer, Helena (1997). Love by the Numbers: Form and the Meaning in the poetry of Catullus. Peter Lang Publishing.
- Deuling, Judy (2006). "Catullus 17 and 67, and the Catullan Construct". Antichthon. 40: 1–9. S2CID 145585439.
- Dorey, T.A. (1959). "The Aurelii and the Furii". Proceedings of the African Classical Associations. 2: 9–10.
- Duhigg, J. (1971). "The Elegiac Metre of Catullus". Antichthon. 5: 57–67. S2CID 148299423.
- Ellis, R. (1889). A Commentary on Catullus. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Ferguson, J. (1963). "Catullus and Martial". Proceedings of the African Classical Associations. 6: 3–15.
- Ferguson, J. (1988). Catullus. Greece & Rome: New Surveys in the Classics. Vol. 20. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Ferrero, L. (1955). Interpretazione di Catullo (in Italian). Torino: Torino, Rosenberg & Sellier.
- Fitzgerald, W. (1995). Catullan Provocations; Lyric Poetry and the Drama of Position. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Fletcher, G.B.A. (1967). "Catulliana". Latomus. 26: 104–106.
- Fletcher, G.B.A. (1991). "Further Catulliana". Latomus. 50: 92–93.
- Fordyce, C.J. (1961). Catullus, A Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Gaisser, Julia Haig (1993). Catullus And His Renaissance Readers. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Greene, Ellen (2006). "Catullus, Caesar and the Roman Masculine Identity". Antichthon. 40: 49–64. S2CID 140827803.
- Hallett, Judith (2006). "Catullus and Horace on Roman Women Poets". Antichthon. 40: 65–88. S2CID 140917675.
- Harrington, Karl Pomeroy (1963). Catullus and His Influence. New York: Cooper Square Publishers.
- Havelock, E.A. (1939). The Lyric Genius of Catullus. Oxford: B. Blackwell.
- Hild, Christian (2013). Liebesgedichte als Wagnis. Emotionen und generationelle Prozesse in Catulls Lesbiagedichten. St. Ingbert: Röhrig. ISBN 978-3-86110-517-6.
- Jackson, Anna (2006). "Catullus in the Playground". Antichthon. 40: 104–116. S2CID 142720674.
- Kaggelaris, N. (2015), "Wedding Cry: Sappho (Fr. 109 LP, Fr. 104(a) LP)- Catullus (c. 62. 20-5)- modern greek folk songs" [in Greek] in Avdikos, E.- Koziou-Kolofotia, B. (ed.) Modern Greek folk songs and history, Karditsa, pp. 260–70 [1]
- Kidd, D.A. (1970). "Some Problems in Catullus LXVI". Antichthon. 4: 38–49. S2CID 147666304.
- Kokoszkiewicz, Konrad W. (2004). "Et futura panda sive de Catulli carmine sexto corrigendo". Hermes. 32: 125–128.
- Kroll, Wilhelm (1929). C. Valerius Catullus (in German). Leipzig: B.G. Teubner.
- Maas, Paul (1942). "The Chronology of the Poems of Catullus". Classical Quarterly. 36 (1–2): 79–82. S2CID 170577777.
- Martin, Charles (1992). Catullus. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press. ISBN 0-300-05199-9.
- Munro, H.A.J. (1878). Criticisms and Elucidations of Catullus. Cambridge: Deighton, Bell and co.
- Newman, John Kevin (1990). Roman Catullus and the Modification of the Alexandrian Sensibility. Hildesheim: Weidmann.
- Quinn, Kenneth (1959). The Catullan Revolution. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
- Quinn, Kenneth (1973). Catullus: The Poems (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan.
- Radici Colace, P., Il poeta si diverte. Orazio, Catullo e due esempi di poesia non seria, Giornale Italiano di Filologia XVI [XXXVII] 1, 1985, pp. 53–71.
- Radici Colace, P., Parodie catulliane, ovvero "quando il poeta si diverte", Giornale Italiano di Filologia, XXXIX - 1, 1987, 39-57.
- Radici Colace, P., Tra ripetizione, struttura e ri-uso: il C. 30 di Catullo, in Atti 175° anniversario Liceo Ginnasio Statale "T. Campanella", Reggio Calabria 1989, 137-142.
- Radici Colace, P., Mittente-messaggio-destinatario in Catullo tra autobiografia e problematica dell'interpretazione, in AA.VV., Atti del Convegno—La componente autobiografica nella poesia greca e latina fra realtà e artificio letterario - Pisa 16-17 maggio 1991, Pisa 1992, 1-13.
- Radici Colace, P., La "parola" e il "segno". Il rapporto mittente-destinatario e il problema dell'interpretazione in Catullo, Messana n.s.15, 1993, 23-44.
- Radici Colace, P., Riuso e parodia in Catullo, Atti del Convegno su Forme della parodia, parodia delle forme nel mondo greco e latino, (Napoli 9 maggio 1995)—A.I.O.N.‖ XVIII, 1996, 155-167.
- Radici Colace, P., Innografia e parodia innografica in Catullo, in Paideia‖ LXIV, 2009, 553-561
- Rothstein, Max (1923). "Catull und Lesbia". Philologus. 78 (1–2): 1–34. S2CID 164356664.
- Small, Stuart G.P. (1983). Catullus. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America. ISBN 0-8191-2905-4.
- Swann, Bruce W. (1994). Martial's Catullus. The Reception of an Epigrammatic Rival. Hildesheim: Georg Olms.
- Thomson, Douglas Ferguson Scott (1997). Catullus: Edited with a Textual and Interpretative Commentary. Phoenix. Vol. 34: suppl. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-0676-0.
- Townend, G.B. (1980). "A Further Point in Catullus' attack on Volusius". Greece & Rome. n.s. 27 (2): 134–136. S2CID 163057658.
- Townend, G.B. (1983). "The Unstated Climax of Catullus 64". Greece & Rome. n.s. 30: 21–30. S2CID 161731074.
- Tesoriero, Charles (2006). "Hidden Kisses in Catullus: Poems 5, 6, 7 and 8". Antichthon. 40: 10–18. S2CID 145676407.
- Tuplin, C.J. (1981). "Catullus 68". Classical Quarterly. n.s. 31: 113–139. S2CID 187104503.
- Uden, James (2006). "Embracing the Young Man in Love: Catullus 75 and the Comic Adulescens". Antichthon. 40: 19–34. S2CID 142740848.
- Watson, Lindsay C. (2003). "Bassa's Borborysms: on Martial and Catullus". Antichthon. 37: 1–12. S2CID 140932135.
- Watson, Lindsay C. (2006). "Catullus and the Poetics of Incest". Antichthon. 40: 35–48. S2CID 141549179.
- Wheeler, A. L. (1934). Catullus and the Traditions of Ancient Poetry. Sather Classical Lectures. Vol. 9. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Wilamowitz-Möllendorf, Ulrich von (1913). Sappho und Simonides (in German). Berlin: Weidmann.
- Wiseman, T. P. (1969). Catullan Questions. Leicester: Leicester University Press.
- Wiseman, T. P. (2002). Catullus and His World: A Reappraisal (1st pbk. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-31968-4.
- Wiseman, T. P. (1974). Cinna the poet and other Roman essays. Leicester: Leicester University Press. ISBN 0-7185-1120-4.
External links
- Works by Catullus at Perseus Digital Library
- Works by Catullus at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Catullus at Internet Archive
- Works by Catullus at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Catullus translations: Catullus's work in Latin and multiple (ten or more) modern languages, including scanned versions of every poem
- Catullus in Latin and English
- Catullus translated exclusively in English Translated by A. S. Kline
- Catullus Online: searchable Latin text, repertory of conjectures, and images of the most important manuscripts
- Catullus: Latin text, concordances and frequency list
- Catullus purified: a brief history of Carmen 16 by Thomas Nelson Winter
- SORGLL: Catullus 5, read by Robert Sonkowsky