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Gaius Valerius Catullus (c. 84 – c.  54 BC), known as Catullus, was a Latin neoteric poet of the late Roman Republic. His surviving works remain widely read due to their popularity as teaching tools and their modern appeal.

Life
Catullus's family, the Valerii Catulli, Gāius Valerius Catullus was born to a leading equestrian family of Verona, in Cisalpine Gaul. The social prominence of the Catullus family allowed the father of Gaius Valerius to entertain Julius Caesar when he was the Promagistrate (proconsul) of both Gallic provinces. In a poem, Catullus describes his happy homecoming to the family villa at Sirmio, on Lake Garda, near Verona; he also owned a villa near the resort of Tibur (modern Tivoli).

Catullus appears to have spent most of his young adult years in Rome. His friends there included the poets Licinius Calvus, and Helvius Cinna, Quintus Hortensius (son of the orator and rival of Cicero) and the biographer Cornelius Nepos, to whom Catullus dedicated a libellus of poems, the relation of which to the extant collection remains a matter of debate. He appears to have been acquainted with the poet Marcus Furius Bibaculus. A number of prominent contemporaries appear in his poetry, including Cicero, Caesar and Pompey. According to an anecdote preserved by Suetonius, Caesar did not deny that Catullus's lampoons left an indelible stain on his reputation, but when Catullus apologized, he invited the poet for dinner the very same day.

The "Lesbia" of his poems is usually identified with Clodia Metelli, a sophisticated woman from the aristocratic house of patrician family Claudii Pulchri, sister of the infamous Publius Clodius Pulcher, and wife to Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer (consul of 60 BC). In his poems Catullus describes several stages of their relationship: initial euphoria, doubts, separation, and his wrenching feelings of loss. Clodia had several other partners; "From the poems one can adduce no fewer than five lovers in addition to Catullus: Egnatius (poem 37), Gellius (poem 91), Quintius (poem 82), Rufus (poem 77), and Lesbius (poem 79)." There is also some question surrounding her husband's mysterious death in 59 BC: in his speech Pro Caelio Cicero hints that he may have been poisoned. However, a sensitive and passionate Catullus could not relinquish his flame for Clodia, regardless of her obvious indifference to his desire for a deep and permanent relationship. In his poems, Catullus wavers between devout, sweltering love and bitter, scornful insults that he directs at her blatant infidelity (as demonstrated in poems 11 and 58). His passion for her is unrelenting—yet it is unclear when exactly the couple split up for good. Catullus's poems about the relationship display striking depth and psychological insight.

He spent the 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 (101).

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. Jerome stated that he was born in 87 BC and died in Rome on his 30th year. However, Catullus’ poems include references to events of 55 BC. Since the Roman consular fasti make it somewhat easy to confuse 87–57 BC with 84–54 BC, many scholars accept the dates 84 BC–54 BC, supposing that his latest poems and the publication of his libellus coincided with the year of his death. Other authors suggest 52 or 51 BC as the year of the poet's death. Though upon his elder brother's death Catullus lamented that their "whole house was buried along" with the deceased, the existence (and prominence) of Valerii Catulli is attested in the following centuries. T.P. Wiseman argues that after the brother's death Catullus could have married, and that, in this case, the later Valerii Catulli may have been his descendants.

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: approximately sixty short poems in varying meters, called polymetra, nine longer poems, and forty-eight epigrams in elegiac couplets. Each of these three parts – approximately 860 (or more), 1136, and 330 lines respectively – would fit onto a single scroll.

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: several of them are based on the theme of marriage. The longest (64) of 408 lines, contains two myths (the abandonment of Ariadne and the marriage of Peleus and Thetis), one story included inside the other.

The polymetra and the epigrams can be divided into four major thematic groups (ignoring a rather large number of poems that elude such categorization):


 * poems to and about his friends (e.g., an invitation like poem 13).
 * erotic poems: some of them about his attraction for a boy named Juventius, but others about women, especially about one he calls "Lesbia" (which served as a false name for his married girlfriend, Clodia, source and inspiration of many of his poems).
 * invectives: often rude and sometimes downright obscene poems targeted at friends-turned-traitors (e.g., poem 16), other lovers of Lesbia, well-known poets, and politicians (e.g., Julius Caesar and Cicero).
 * condolences: some poems of Catullus are solemn in nature. 96 comforts a friend in the death of a loved one; several others, most famously 101, lament the death of his brother.

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.

Intellectual influences
Catullus's poetry was influenced by the innovative poetry of the Hellenistic Age, and especially by Callimachus and the Alexandrian school, which had propagated a new style of poetry that deliberately turned away from the classical epic poetry in the tradition of Homer. Cicero called these local innovators neoteroi (νεώτεροι) or "moderns" (in Latin poetae novi or 'new poets'), in that they cast off the heroic model handed down from Ennius in order to strike new ground and ring a contemporary note. Catullus and Callimachus did not describe the feats of ancient heroes and gods (except perhaps in re-evaluating and predominantly artistic circumstances, e.g. poem 64), focusing instead on small-scale personal themes. Although these poems sometimes seem quite superficial and their subjects often are mere everyday concerns, they are accomplished works of art. Catullus described his work as expolitum, or polished, to show that the language he used was very carefully and artistically composed.

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 63, 64, 65, 66, and 68—allude to mythology in various ways. Some stories he refers to are the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, the departure of the Argonauts, Theseus and the Minotaur, Ariadne's abandonment, Tereus and Procne, as well as Protesilaus and Laodamia.

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.

Ancient influence
Horace was influenced by Catullus's language, themes, and style. He often quotes words or phrases from Catullus, employing them in similar contexts. The second most common meter used in Horace's poetry, the Sapphic, was used earlier in Catullus 11 and 51. Situations and topics present in Catullus's poems are echoed in Horace's.

Catullus is never recognized as a predecessor by Horace. In Odes 3.30, Horace writes that he was the first (though some translate this as "chief") to bring Aeolian verse into Latin, which includes Sapphic meter. Later in Epistles 1.19, he makes a similar claim, where he is more specific in his accomplishments, not making any reference to Sappho. It has been suggested that Horace neglected Catullus's Sapphic poems because there were only two. More generally, Horace may not have recognized Catullus because they wrote in different meters: Quintilian identifies Catullus as a writer of iambic verse, and Horace as a writer of lyric. Although this may seem superficial, ancient authors considered meter closely related to genre. Horace also may not have recognized Catullus due to pride, or simply because he felt that the allusions he made were recognition enough.

While Horace does not recognize Catullus as a predecessor, he mentions Catullus once in Satires 1.10. In this poem, he mocks the imitators of Catullus and his friend Calvus, another member of the poetae novae. This has been interpreted as a compliment to Catullus, who would not have wanted imitators anyway. Some also consider it a way for Horace to distance himself from Catullus.

While Horace did take much from Catullus, he was less passionate and turned Catullus's themes into more universal expressions. Horace also was more strict in his meter, with less of a spontaneous feeling to his poetry.

Catullus also influenced Vergil's writing, especially Eclogue 4. Both authors relate personal occurrences to events of greater significance. Vergil takes a more optimistic approach to Catullus's themes, sometimes inverting a negative chronological trend to a positive one. This reworking of Catullus's themes may also be ironic, suggesting that Vergil's poems may not be as optimistic as they seem.

Catullus's influence on Vergil is mainly apparent in the Eclogues and the Aeneid, although there are still some allusions in the Georgics. The Aeneid is primarily influenced by Catullus 11, 64, 66, and 101. In particular, Catullus 66 contains a line (invita, o regina, tuo de vertice cessi) which is almost identical to a line in the sixth book of the Aeneid (invitus, regina, tuo de litore cessi). This line is puzzling, however, because it is quoted in an entirely different context: Catullus's poem is humorous, while the part of the Aeneid where it occurs is solemn. Some have suggested that Virgil's allusion is merely incidental, while others have found serious themes echoed from Catullus 66. It has also been identified as part of a larger reference to Catullus 66 in Aeneid 6.

Ancient Roman love elegists considered Catullus a predecessor to, or even the founder of, love elegy and Catullus 68 is an early example of the genre. Catullus and the love elegists have much in common: Catullus's depiction of Lesbia influenced later portrayals of women in love elegy; Catullus and the love elegists both characterized themselves as effeminate; Catullus's first-person narration resembles that of love elegists; and they both wrote on similar themes. Ovid in particular quotes Catullus's poetry in similar contexts and reflects Catullus's early treatment of myths. Despite this, modern scholars note that Catullus did not typically write in elegaic couplets (he is not considered an elegist by Quintilian), and that his poems were shorter than most love elegies; Catullus 68, while influential, was the only poem he wrote in elegaic couplets of a similar length. Most of what Catullus wrote therefore did not directly influence the love elegists. Yet Catullus's poetry as a whole still influenced love elegy as a collection of poems whose relations could be better understood through repeated reading.

Later writers still referenced and were influenced by Catullus's poetry. Pliny the Elder quotes some lines of Catullus at the begin of his Natural History, using it to relate to Vespasian's son, Titus, to whom he dedicated his work, and criticizes them with the neologism duriusculus (rather harsh). Statius, too, was to some degree influenced by the structure of Catullus's poetry and its precedent of novelty. Martial, though, was perhaps most influenced by Catullus's works among the later poets.

Martial's poems were of similar length and meter to Catullus, and Martial explicitly recognizes Catullus as a predecessor. Although Martial writes that he takes his style of epigram from Catullus, he distances himself from aggressive Catullan verse; Martial writes that he does not wish to use his poems as weapons and will avoid using a person's real name – although he does not always do so. As well as recognizing Catullus as a predecessor, Martial makes reference to Catullus's poetry and the people mentioned in them, such as Lesbia. Martial and Catullus also wrote poetry for different purposes: Martial wrote for public fame; Catullus wrote for a private group of friends. Martial neglected the sophisticated learning of Catullus, creating short, obscene epigrams suited for mass appeal.

Modern reception
When Catullus was rediscovered in the Renaissance, he was interpreted through his imitator, Martial, whose poetry persisted due to its greater popular appeal. Catullus was thus seen as a writer of short, obscene verse lacking philosophical content. Due to this influence, the first poets who imitated Catullus in the 15th century primarily wrote short, light, vulgar poetry. The text containing Catullus's poetry was corrupted; in the first two hundred years after its rediscovery, much effort was spent correcting it. There was much debate over the meaning of parts of Catullus's poetry, such as whether the sparrow in Catullus 2 and 3 had obscene connotations. While characteristics of Catullus's poetry, such as its sophistication, were known through ancient sources, the precise nature of these characteristics was unknown; Catullus's references to Greek poetry were not realized until the sixteenth century.

Musical settings
The Hungarian born British composer Matyas Seiber set poem 31 for unaccompanied mixed chorus Sirmio in 1957. The American composer Ned Rorem set Catullus 101 to music for voice and piano; the song, "Catullus: On the Burial of His Brother", was originally published in 1969.

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. 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.

Thomas Campion also wrote a lute-song entitled "My Sweetest Lesbia" dating from 1601 using his own translation of the first six lines of Catullus 5 followed by two verses of his own; the translation by Richard Crashaw was set to music in a four-part glee by Samuel Webbe Jr. It was also set to music, in a three-part glee by John Stafford Smith.

Catullus 5, the love poem Vivamus mea Lesbia atque amemus, in the translation by Ben Jonson, was set to music in 1606, (lute accompanied song) by Alfonso Ferrabosco the younger. Dutch composer Bertha Tideman-Wijers used Catullus's text for her composition Variations on Valerius "Where that one already turns or turns." 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. Catulli Carmina is a cantata by Carl Orff dating from 1943 that sets texts from Catullus to music. Finnish jazz singer Reine Rimón has recorded poems of Catullus set to standard jazz tunes.

Cultural depictions

 * The 1888 play Lesbia by Richard Davey depicts the relationship between Catullus and Lesbia, based on incidents from Catullus's poems.
 * Catullus was the main protagonist of the historical novel Farewell, Catullus (1953) by Pierson Dixon. The novel shows the corruption of Roman society.
 * Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita makes multiple explicit and implicit allusions to Catullus' work.
 * 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".
 * 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 1995 novel The Venus Throw as the embittered ex-lover of Clodia, sister of Publius Clodius Pulcher, whom he calls Lesbia.