Lesbia and Catullus

Upon reading Catullus’s poems for Lesbia, it’s clear that their relationship was tumultuous. The poems range from describing deep, passionate love to seething hatred. In each work, however, one thing struck me: Catullus’s honestly. Regardless of how he feels, he expresses himself fearlessly. Most poets employ extravagant language and metaphor to mask or beautify their feelings. Catullus, though an eloquent writer, remains much more straightforward. Whether adoring or admonishing, the poet's use of language emphasizes emotion, in which the reader can relate. I chose three poems addressed to Lesbia, each from a different stage in their relationship: passionate, frustrated, and begrudging love. Analyzing the poems’ language, I will expose Catullus’s mercurial emotions.

In Let’s Live and Love: to Lesbia, Catullus gushes. He details his everlasting love by saying, “Suns may set, and suns may rise again:/ but when our brief light has set,/ night is one long everlasting sleep”. Everlasting sleep plainly refers to death, so Catullus establishes death alone can part the lovers. Rather than befuddling emotions through lofty metaphors, Catallus speaks plainly. The honestly of prose reflects the honesty of his emotions. In this moment Catallus believes his love will last a lifetime. To further assert his love, Catullus exclaims, “Give me a thousand kisses, a hundred more”. Here, kisses symbolize nothing more than themselves. By speaking plainly, Catullus enhances his emotion. Because it the prose is so easy for the reader to understand, the sentiment becomes easier to grasp. Thus, his feelings more strongly resonate with the reader. Although in later poems, we discover their love fades, Catullus clearly expresses the love he feels at that moment, which allows the reader to both understand and relate to his words.

As with so many relationships, infatuation fades. The author describes this phenomenon in the poem, Familiarity: to Lesbia. Catullus explains that “Now I know you; so, though I burn more fiercely, /yet you’re worth much less to me, and slighter… The pain of such love/ makes a lover love more, but like less”.  His statement expresses the loss of initial passion. In the beginning of a relationship, each person remains a mystery to the other. Each fact gained is like a prize, but after awhile one learns almost all the other’s facts. Catullus describes his relationship after he discovers all Lesbia’s mysteries. Knowing Lesbia completely, he gains a closeness, which enriches his love. His knowledge, however, it decreases the excitement, for the can no longer win any precious facts. Again, his candor allows the reader a deeper appreciation of his feelings. Many lovers experience the end of infatuation, and by expressing it clearly, the readers become able to compare Catullus’s experience with that of their own.

Finally, Catullus explains his love’s end. As expected, he does not leave the reader wondering how he feels. Words against Lesbia: to Furius and Aurelius”, define Catullus’s contempt. Stating, “Let her live and be happy with her adulterers,/ hold all three-hundred in her embrace/truly love-less, wearing them al down/again and again”, the author clearly relays his opinion of Lesbia. Though he exaggerates, his words emphasize his feelings. Though Lesbia probably didn’t have three hundred lovers, that’s the way it feels to Catullus. Lesbia destroyed his love “like the last flower of the field, touched once by the passing plough”. Despite using simile, his reference remains crystal clear. The reader would certainly know what results after plowing a field. Thus, they can easily visualize the hurt Catullus describes. Just as the plough crushes the flowers in its path, so too does Lesbia crushed his love.