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