Comparing The Writing Tablets: To The Hendecasyllables '

Enduring a breakup with his girlfriend, Roman poet Catullus turns to writing ill-mannered poetry about her. ‘42. The Writing Tablets: to the Hendecasyllables’ is Catullus’ poem about his relationship with Lesbia, a pseudonym for his ended love affair, in where he calls her a ‘base adulteress’ and demands back his letters in which he wrote to her. This poem is what I choose to do a creative response to, due to Catullus’ strong themes of justice, anger and his use of visual imagery.

Catullus had written about Lesbia in many of his other poems (appearing in 25 of his 116 surviving poems), however many had a far different tone, of passionate and tender poems to her. Nonetheless, the atmosphere of 42 opposed to his more passionate works, is mocking, overwhelming and vengeful.

42 is written to ‘the Hendecasyllables,’ a line of 11 syllables, which he personifies throughout the piece, talking to them about Lesbia. Using the term hendecasyllables shows both Catullus’ education as well as his ability to use formality for a untraditionally formal subject and word choices.

He talks to the hendecasyllables similarly as if they were an audience. Catullus directly explains the situation to them, offers rhetorical questions and describes what they are going to do to Lesbia.

‘We’ll follow her: ask for them back.’

This is not meant to be taken literally, as more to stimulate a imaginary confrontation between him and Lesbia. Catullus may have implied for the general Roman people to antagonize Lesbia, however with Lesbia being a pseudonym, it would have been hating a mystery woman (unless Lesbia was commonly known from her pseudonym.)

This imaginary confrontation is used to lash out on Lesbia and displays what Catullus wants from her apart from the physical need of his letters.

‘You won’t? O to the mire, the brothel, or if anything can be more ruinous, than