Poem 85 (Haiku)

love you and hate you

you may wonder why this is

thats just how it is

Poem 72

In poem 72, Catullus writes about the age old theme of falling out of love. In the poem he say’s he used to love Lebia but she has hurt him and now he has lost respect for her and sees her for what she truly is; which is ‘worthless’. The theme of falling out of love is what makes this poem classic because people in ancient Rome felt the same way falling out of love as we do today in the 21st century. Personally, this poem reminds me of a song that just came out this summer called Love Drunk by a band called Boys Like Girls. The song goes: “I used to be love drunk” which is the same idea Catullus is writing about when he says “I loved you then” in line three. The song then goes on with: “but now I’m hung over” which is the same message Catullus is writing about in lines five and six when he says: “now I know you….you are much cheaper and less worthy to me”. Also, in live seven Catullus writes “because such an injury drives a lover…” describing his pain as an injury. In the song there is a line: “now I’m so broken that I can’t get up” which is the same idea as describing the pain (broken heart) as an injury. The idea of feeling broken or injured by love is just another thing that connects Catullus’s poems to the future

Poem 86

In Poem 86, Cattullus writes about another woman named Quintia is is thought beautiful and just like the woman who was thought beautiful in poem 43, Catullus insults her beauty because he isn’t happy about the idea that others think there is someone beautiful besides Lesbia. This poem is also similar to both poems 43 and 22 in that Catullus is insulting someone but he first focuses on something good about that person. In poem 86, he admits that Quinita is tall and fair skinned which are both beautiful traits and admits that Quintia has beautiful features but then goes on to say that all of Quintia’s beautiful features combined are not beautiful. Again, Catullus is insulting someone in a less harsh way just like in poem 43 when he used double negatives to insult the other woman or in poem 22 when he first admitted that the poet was a very well spoken man. Personally, this poem reminded me of a song by Shania Twain called “That Don’t Impress me Much”. In the song, she admits really goods things about a guy, like ‘so you’re a rocket scientist’ or ‘so your Brad Pitt’ and then says ‘that don’t impress me much’ which is exactly what Catullus is doing in poem 86. He say’s Quintia may be tall and may be fair skinned and those are beautiful features but Quintia is still not beautiful to him.

Poem 22

Poem 22 is similar to poem 43 in that in both poems, Catullus is insulting somebody. Also in both of these poems, Catullus has a very polite way of writing and although he is insulting people it gets the point to the reader with out sounding as bad as one would think. For example, in poem 43 when he is insulting the physical features of the girl, he does not say ‘you have a big nose’ he says ‘you who do not have a small nose’. He is using a double negative to make his insults less harsh. In poem 22, Catullus is a little more direct with his insults saying ‘he is more clumsy than a clumsy country, whenever he touches poetry’. With that being said, in poem 22 Catullus starts off complementing the poet first by telling the reader how charming and smart he is. Therefore by the time the insults come it does not seem as bad because Catullus has mentioned his strengths as well as his weaknesses. Also, instead of Catullus coming out and saying ‘he sucks’ Catullus uses less harsh words like clumsy which do not have a really negative connotation. So, poem 43 and poem 22 are similar in that in both poems Catullus is insulting someone but he is doing it in a very safe, indirect and non-harsh way.

Poem 92

In poem 92, Catullus writes about something he has previously written about in other poems. The poem starts off with, “Lesbia always speaks bad of me” but then writes in the next line, “may I die if Lesbia does not love me”. This theme of Lesbia trash talking him but him still being in love with her was seen in poem 83 when Catullus was happy with the fact that she was trash talking him to her husband because it meant she was thinking about him. This poem can be considered classical because it is a common theme in life to love someone at one point who may not love you back. It was something that happened in Ancient Rome thousands of years ago and it is something that can be seen in everyday life here in America in this day and age. I have had many friends who have really liked someone and the person does not feel the same way about them. Wanting to be loved or accepted by someone is an emotion everyone goes through at some point. As humans it is only natural to want to be accepted so the fact that Catullus decided to write about this very theme was smart on his part. Writing about something a lot of people can connect to is smart because when you can connect so something you like it. Because Catullus chose to write about a situation like this, a lot of people can connect to it because it is classical and people are still having the same issues thousands of years later which are why his poems are still read.

Poem 87

In poem 87, Catullus writes that no one is able to say they love another woman as much as he loves Lesbia. He says that no one has ever had more faith in love than he has in Lesbia’s love. Basically, Catullus is convincing Lesbia that no love is greater than theirs. When Catullus wrote this poem, it was fairly popular in it’s time because many people were able to connect with it. Every couple believes there love is better than everyone else’s so anyone who read this poem who was in love or once had been could connect to it. What makes this poem classical is that this connection that so many Romans had to the poem still exists today in that many lovers in this day and age can connect to the poem and believe there love is greater than anyone else’s love. Examples of this theme Catullus wrote about can be seen in many modern day romantic films or ‘chick flicks’. An example of this is in the romantic comedy Hitch. In the movie at the end, the main character is chasing after the girl he loves who is leaving and he tells her that their love is the greatest love he has ever felt and they have something special. Poem 87 is a classic because the idea of having a love greater than everyone else’s still exists today. The very thing that Catullus wrote about is now portrayed in movies like Hitch.

Poem 5

Poem 5 can be considered ‘classical’ in many ways. In it, Catullus is saying to Lesbia to love him and not care what other people think. Catullus starts off the poem by saying “let us live”, and then continues to lines two and three saying “let us value all the talk of the old men as a penny”. Catullus then back’s up his first point by saying that humans only have so long to live so that they should live there life how they want to before there time runs out here on earth. Even though Catullus wrote this poem in the 1st century CE, it is a theme that still applies to people living today. There our many songs that exist today that have to do with the very same themes Catullus is trying to present in his poem. For example, one of the first modern songs I thought of when I read this poem was a song by Bonnie Raitt called “Lets Give Them Something to Talk About”. In the song, the basic idea is that people are talking about a relationship and she is saying lets give them to talk about; as in lets not let what other people think bother us, let us make them talk because who cares as long as we are happy. The other song that really came to mind when Catullus is telling Lesbia that they only live once in lines five and six is a song by Rihanna called “Live Your Life”. In her song Rihanna say’s “live your life, ain’t got no time for no haters”. What she means is that you should live your life how you want and not worry about what other people think because life is too short to pay attention to people who don’t like you. So, in poem 5 and in both hit songs, the theme of living your life and not worrying what other people think is dominant. So the fact that Catullus wrote this poem in the 1st century proves the themes are timeless; which makes it classic.