The Range of Feelings Associated with Love in Catullus and Lesbia' Poems

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The Range of Feelings Associated with Love in Catullus and Lesbia' Poems

Of Catullus’s poems, the Lesbia poems are the most memorable,

particularly as they contain such a wide range of feelings and

emotions. Whilst we do not know what order the poems were written in,

it is tempting to arrange them in a progression from constant love, to

confusion and despair and finally hatred.

Poem 87 appears to be at the beginning of the relationship between

Catullus and Lesbia. The symmetry of the couplets beginning “nulla”

and ending with “mea est” emphasizes the idea that no one loves Lesbia

as much as Catullus. The placement of “nulla” at the beginning of the

lines gives it great importance and stresses how strong and devoted

his love for her is, highlighting that no one is loved as much as

Lesbia is by Catullus. This and the direct address, “amore tuo,”

gives the poem a very personal feel, as though it is a love letter

meant for Lesbia alone. This use of second person address gives the

reader as sense of catching a glimpse or discovering the secret affair

between Catullus and Lesbia. The placement and enjambment of the word

“vere” highlights that his love is sincere and the repetition of “mea

est” and also “a me” shows Catullus’s strong loyalty and love towards

her. Whilst the poem does have a very lyrical feel, Catullus presents

its subject matter as a declaration of fact and states that no one is

as loyal to Lesbia as himself. There is a slight degree of

self-righteousness as he seems to be obsessed with his own loyalty,

but he is clearly distressed that his efforts have not been

appreciated or reciprocated by Lesbia and his sentime...

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...is own

experience. In reading the poems, the reader gets an impression that

they are all very sincere and real due to their personal tone. Rather

than just talking about an ideal concept of love, Catullus explains

all the feelings he experiences, including eternal love, but also

confusion, the harsh realisation that he feels he cannot trust Lesbia,

and anger. These Lesbia poems not only show the range of his

feelings, but also his own range in style, from heightened, elaborate

language, to simple expressions of complex feeling, although the

latter probably shows his sincerity more effectively, for example poem

85 in which Catullus manages to demonstrate how torn he is in only two

lines. Throughout the selection of the poems, Catullus conveys to the

reader that he feels both wonderful and torturous elements of love.

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