CLASSIC 20 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Catullus
Document Summary
Neoteric poetry: focused on form, composition was important, innovative, self-conscious, colloquial, short poems. As opposed to massive epics: refined poetry. Poem 5: carpe diem, life = finite, love = infinite, wants to live now before her lover finds out the truth, wants to treat it as a never-ending thing even though he recognizes its temporary nature. Poem 7: callimachus comes from cyrene; writes like this. Poem 8: they"ve broken up, framing it as if he has pity on her because now she no longer has his love. Poem 11: let her live and flourish with her adulterers , he portrays himself as very bitter, he emasculates himself. Poem 85: he feels that he is being crucified, both love and hate. Poem 16: does what the author writes about reflect his character as a person, trying to suggest the opposite of their opinions of him that he"s weak and passive.
