For the Latin IV Midterm:
A
Translate and answer multiple choice questions from Catullus excerpt (below).
B
Match the Catullus poems with a brief summary of their content.
C
Cite examples Neoteric characteristics in the Catullus poems we’ve studied.
D
Translate and answer multiple choice questions from Ovid excerpts (below).
From Catullus
LVGETE, o Veneres Cupidinesque,
et quantum est hominum uenustiorum:
passer mortuus est meae puellae,
passer, deliciae meae puellae,
quem plus illa oculis suis amabat.
5
nam mellitus erat suamque norat
ipsam tam bene quam puella matrem,
nec sese a gremio illius mouebat,
sed circumsiliens modo huc modo illuc
ad solam dominam usque pipiabat.
10
Catullus was part of the so-called ‘neoteric’ generation of poets:
The Neotericoi (Greek νεωτερικοί "new poets"), Neoterics or the Neoteric period
refers to avant-garde poets and their poetry, specifically those Greek and Latin poets in
the Hellenistic Period (323 BC onwards) who propagated a new style of Greek poetry,
deliberately turning away from the classical Homeric epic poetry.
Their poems featured small-scale personal themes, instead of the feats of ancient
heroes and gods. Although these poems might seem to address superficial subjects,
they are subtle and accomplished works of art.
The most famous of these were the Alexandrian Greeks Callimachus, the author of
many epigrams, and Theocritus, a bucolic poet from Sicily.
Influenced by the Greek Neoterics, the Latin Neoterics or poetae novi (writing in
the 1st century BC) rejected traditional social and literary norms. Their poetry is
characterized by tight construction, a playful use of genre, punning, and complex
allusions. The most significant surviving Latin Neoteric is Catullus. The modern edition of
his works derives from a single codex, which appeared in the 14th century in his
hometown of Verona, but now is lost. His poetry exemplifies the elegant vocabulary,
meter, and sound which the Neoterics sought, while balancing it with the equally
important allusive element of their style.
Latin poets normally classified as neoterics are Catullus and his fellow poets such as
Helvius Cinna, Publius Valerius Cato, Marcus Furius Bibaculus, Quintus Cornificius etc.
Some neoteric stylistic features can also be seen in the works of Virgil, who was one
generation younger than the poetae novi. They were occasionally the subject of scorn
from older, more traditionally minded Romans such as Cicero.
Neoteric. (2012, November 23). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:25, December 12, 2012, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Neoteric&oldid=524526518
Here are some characteristics of Neoteric poems:

elusive place names and mythical references

story within a story framework

Grecisms (use of Greek names and grammar)

appeal to oral tradition (“ut fama”)

non-mainstream or deviant outlook

demanding, learned, only the docti know

ecomony of expression through subtext and allusion multum in parvo

interworking of poems themselves, the whole greater than its parts

art within art (ekphrasis)

narrator speaks to characters

perverse relationships, female sufferings
From Ovid (Daedalus & Icarus)
postquam manus ultima coepto
inposita est, geminas opifex libravit in alas
ipse suum corpus motaque pependit in aura;
instruit et natum 'medio' que 'ut limite curras,
Icare,' ait 'moneo, ne, si demissior ibis,
unda gravet pennas, si celsior, ignis adurat:
inter utrumque vola.
200
205
From Ovid (Daedalus & Icarus)
inter opus monitusque genae maduere seniles,
et patriae tremuere manus; dedit oscula nato
non iterum repetenda suo pennisque levatus
ante volat comitique timet, velut ales, ab alto
quae teneram prolem produxit in aera nido,
hortaturque sequi damnosasque erudit artes
et movet ipse suas et nati respicit alas.
hos aliquis tremula dum captat harundine pisces,
aut pastor baculo stivave innixus arator
vidit et obstipuit, quique aethera carpere possent,
credidit esse deos.
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