Saturday, September 26, 2009

Catullus 7

Catullus and Lesbia seem to be hitting it off.
Lesbia, clearly flirting with Catullus, asks him how many kisses she needs to give him.
Catullus, being the hopeless romantic he is, writes a freaking POEM as an answer. And a lofty, grand one at that.

He uses imagery in this poem like an AP English student uses Sparknotes. He compares the number of kisses to such epic things as the grains of the Libyan sand "that lies on the silphium-bearing Cyrene" or are the stars. The poem is exceedingly pretty, giving personification to the night sky and invoking references to the Roman gods.

Catullus outright tells her how crazy he is about her. By comparing kisses to grains of sand and stars, he tells her that he will never have "more than enough" of her, and will truly love her forever. Finally, he staunchly declares that no one will find out about their affair or curse it. Apparentely Catullus is aware of the risks that having such an affair entails. But this time, instead of asking the gods for help, he promises to protect their love himself. Looks like love has created a hero out of him.

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