Catullus 8 Analysis

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Recommended: Love in Catullus's poetry

In Catullus’ poems 2, 3, 5, 7, and 8, Catullus describes his torrid affair with Lesbia. Lesbia is typically identified as Clodia, a married woman with a documented history of scandals and affairs. Catullus is deeply infatuated with Lesbia in his early poems, expressing jealousy of her pet bird and attempting to hold Lesbia’s attention. In Catullus 8, Catullus has a dramatic change of heart. He begins speaking in third person, giving himself advice just as much as he critiques Lesbia. Though his tone and attitude towards Lesbia shifts completely from one of loving adoration to resentful disdain, Catullus 8 fits logically with Catullus 2, 3, 5, and 7. Catullus maintains his emotional intensity throughout the poems, using not only his words but …show more content…

It appears as though Lesbia has finally rejected Catullus, and Catullus is struggling to move on from his obsession. He switches from the upbeat hendecasyllabic meter to choliambic meter, often nicknamed "limping iambics" because of its slowed pace, in Catullus 8. Though a change in meter initially appears to disconnect Catullus 8 from the other poems, it in face draws them together by illustrating to the reader the continuous strength of Catullus' emotions (both joyful and distressed) throughout his narrative. While before Catullus had said the suns shone bright for him as he followed Lesbia, he now refers to their relationship as dead and lost: "Miser Catulle... / ...quod vidēs persīsse perditum dūcās" ("Wretched Catullus... / ...consider that thing you see as dead to have been lost") (Catullus 8: 1-2). He uses the alliteration of "perīsse perditum" to further emphasize the ideas of death and loss. His emotions now are just as passionate before, but instead of being upbeat and loving, they are sorrowful and unhappy as Catullus demonstrates with both his word choice and meter. Catullus ends his eighth poem by insulting Lesbia, whom he had showered with compliments and adoration previously. Bitterly Catullus writes, "Scelesta, vae tē! Quae tibī manet vīta? / Quis nunc tē adībit? Cui vidēberis bella?" ("Wicked one, woe to you! What life awaits you? / Who will approach you now? To whom will you seem pretty?") (Catullus 8: 15-16). His admonishments represent a complete shift from his attempts to woo her in earlier poems, though his dedication to disliking Lesbia now is as rigid as his insistence on loving her

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