Latin
Ovid and Latin Love Poetry
Latin Interpretation
Advanced Higher
6929
Spring 2000
HIGHER STILL
Latin
Ovid and Latin Love Poetry
Latin Interpretation
Advanced Higher
Support Materials
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Higher Still Development Programme gratefully acknowledges the following for
permission to reproduce copyright items: the Scottish Qualifications Authority for the
questions on pages 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 28, 32, 35, 38 and 39, taken from CSYS
Latin examination papers; for the extracts in Appendix 1 from The Latin Love Elegy
by G. Luck, Copyright © 1969, Methuen. Reproduced by permission of Taylor &
Francis Books UK.
Every attempt has been made to gain permission to use extracts from the appropriate
copyright owners. The Higher Still Development Programme apologises for any
omission which, if notified, it will be pleased to rectify at the earliest opportunity.
This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part for educational purposes provided that no profit
is derived from the reproduction and that, if reproduced in part, the source is acknowledged.
First published 2000
Higher Still Development Unit
PO Box 12754
Ladywell House
Ladywell Road
Edinburgh
EH12 7YH
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
CONTENTS
Foreword
Introduction
Part One: to the teacher
Part Two: to the student
Section one: Catullus
Section two: Tibullus
Section three: Ovid
Section four: Propertius
Section five: Horace
Section six: Revision
Appendix 1: A synopsis of G Luck, The Latin Love Elegy
Appendix 2: Variant readings for Ovid, Amores I
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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FOREWORD
These support materials for Latin were developed as part of the Higher Still
Development Programme in response to needs identified at needs analysis meetings
and national seminars.
Advice on learning and teaching may be found in Achievement for All, (SOEID 1996)
and in the Classics Subject Guide.
This support package provides a student study guide to support the teaching of the
Ovid and Latin Love Poetry option of the Interpretation unit for Latin at Advanced
Higher. There is an introductory page of notes for the teacher/lecturer. This is
followed by a section of general advice for students. The main part of the guide
contains a section on each of the five poets plus a revision section. Appendix 1
provides a synopsis of The Latin Love Elegy by Luck and Appendix 2 deals with
variant readings for Ovid, Amores I.
The guide has been designed so that students should be able to use it in a supported
self-study mode, if required. The practice questions and essays provided are only
examples and are by no means exhaustive. Tackling these questions and essays will
contribute to the development by students of the core skill component, Critical
Thinking.
While students will tackle these questions and activities individually for the most part,
there may be opportunities for some collaborative working and staff will wish to
discuss points raised with individuals, groups and the whole class.
The exact way in which this material is used is, of course, at the discretion of the
individual teacher or lecturer.
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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INTRODUCTION
PART ONE: TO THE TEACHER
Students working at Advanced Higher are beginning to learn and practice the skills
that will be essential when they go on to university. In particular it is important that
they can do two things:
 work on their own with the minimum of supervision, thus taking increased
responsibility for their own learning
 access a range of relevant materials and extract what they need for their own
purpose, thereby developing valuable research skills.
For this reason the materials prepared for use by students taking Advanced Higher
Latin Interpretation are different in kind from those prepared for students working at
Intermediate and Higher levels. The materials for ‘Ovid and Latin Love Poetry’ take
the form of a Study Guide, which will direct the student to material in various
publications, most of which will already be available in the Classics department or the
school library. Some of the tasks in the Study Guide are straightforward, intended to
ensure only that the student has read and understood the relevant text(s); others
require some research, using reference books and the introduction and notes in the
edition of Ovid and translations suggested below. Others again require the study of
the texts as literature. A student who works conscientiously through the Study Guide,
performing all the tasks listed and handing in assignments for her/his teacher to mark,
should be well prepared for both internal assessments and the external examination.
Please note that the numbering system used for the poems is the system used in the
1998 edition of the Prescribed Text booklet issued by the Scottish Qualifications
Authority. The conventional numbering system for each poem is also given in
brackets after the SQA number, so that you can easily find the poem and its
accompanying notes in any edition or translation which you may wish to consult. The
authors are presented in the Study Guide in the order Catullus, Tibullus, Ovid,
Propertius, Horace. This is only approximately chronological, but it has proved to
work well in practice. Individual teachers may prefer to adopt a different order, in
which case one or two of the comparison questions may have to be omitted or done at
a different time.
It is important to note that the Latin text in the SQA’s Prescribed Text booklet is from
the Oxford Classical Text, and may occasionally differ from the text in Barsby’s
edition (probably the most commonly-used edition of Amores I). A list of variants is
included in Appendix 2.
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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INTRODUCTION
PART TWO: TO THE STUDENT
(a) Books and other materials
Apart from this Study Guide, you will also need a copy of the CSYS Latin Prescribed
Text, issued by the Scottish Qualifications Authority in 1998, and (if possible) the
following texts, which are recommended for study but not prescribed.
In Latin:
 Ovid, Amores I (ed. John Barsby, Bristol Classical Press)
In English:
 Ovid, The Erotic Poems (translated by Peter Green, Penguin)
 Catullus, Poems (translated by Peter Whigham, Penguin)
 Propertius, Poems (translated by W.G. Shepherd, Penguin)
 Tibullus, Poems (translated by Philip Dunlop, Penguin)
 Horace, Odes (translated by W.G. Shepherd, Penguin).
The Study Guide occasionally refers specifically to these books, but since they are not
prescribed texts, other editions and translations may be substituted. It is important to
note that the Latin text in the SQA’s Prescribed Text booklet is from the Oxford
Classical Text, and may occasionally differ from Barsby’s text. The introduction and
notes in Barsby’s edition are excellent and highly recommended, while the Penguin
translations provide very useful introductions and notes to the poetry of the authors
concerned. You are advised to refer regularly to these materials while working on the
poems, as they will often help to clarify points of possible difficulty. As the Penguin
translation of Tibullus is out of print and not readily available, some notes for use
with the three prescribed poems by Tibullus are included in this Study Guide. Some
notes on Propertius are also included, since previous experience has shown that
students find his poetry particularly difficult.
There are various other books that can be used for reference or extra help. The
following list is not intended as a prescribed list, and is by no means exhaustive: it is
simply a selection of some of the most useful and most readily available books.
Individual schools may have others which are of equal value. Some of the books
listed are out of print, but may be available in the school’s Classics department or in a
library. Most can be used by students as well as teachers.
Oxford Classical Dictionary
Oxford Companion to Classical Literature
C.J. Fordyce, Catullus: a Commentary (Oxford University Press, 1961)
Gilbert Highet, Poets in a Landscape (Penguin, 1959)
G. Luck, The Latin Love Elegy (2nd edition, Methuen 1979)
R.O.A.M. Lyne, The Latin Love Poets from Catullus to Horace (Oxford University
Press, 1980)
Kenneth Quinn, Catullus: the Poems (Macmillan, 1973)
Gordon Williams, The Nature of Roman Poetry (Oxford University Press, 1970)
T.P. Wiseman, Catullus and his World: a Reappraisal (Cambridge University Press,
1985)
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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The most useful general study is probably Lyne, The Latin Love Poets. Because
Luck, The Latin Love Elegy, is possibly not readily available, a synopsis is included in
Appendix 1 of the Study Guide.
(b) Working on your own: some advice on taking notes
Your notes will consist of your answers to the questions on each poem. Your teacher
may wish to see them from time to time, to make sure that your note-taking is of a
satisfactory standard. Don’t fall into the trap of skating lightly over the surface when
you take notes. In the end, you will be the one to suffer if the groundwork isn’t done
properly. You will need your notes to revise from, and if you do the job poorly, your
revision – and maybe even your performance in assessments or exams – will suffer.
Be honest with yourself, and be thorough.
Read each poem two or three times: the first time fairly quickly to get the general feel
of it; the second time slowly and carefully, looking up any words or references that
are new to you, to develop a better understanding of its content; then as you read
through it for a third time, make your own notes according to the instructions given in
each assignment. Include in your notes any brief quotes that help to illustrate the
points you are noting. This will save you lots of time when revising, since you can
then revise by reading your notes, and referring to the text of the poem as and when
necessary.
One bad habit to avoid is the habit of writing down quotations you don’t really
understand as a lazy way of getting the work finished faster. If you don’t understand
what the quotation means now, you will be even less able to understand it when you
revise. It’s much more sensible to ask your teacher to help with difficult sections of
whatever you are reading.
(c) Assignments
At regular intervals you will find essay questions and questions from past CSYS
interpretation papers. Take special care with your answers to these questions. Your
teacher will mark these, and this assessment will give both you and your teacher a
clear understanding of your progress.
Writing essays:
Always plan an essay before writing it out. As a general rule, your plan will have an
introduction, a conclusion, and three main points in the middle. These three points
may be subdivided. (Why three? If you have fewer than three points you probably
haven’t done enough; if you have four or more you may be repeating yourself or
including irrelevant material. However, there can be exceptions to this ‘rule of three’,
as experience will show you.)
First of all, make sure you know exactly what the question is asking you to do. Your
introductory paragraph should include material which makes this clear. You can also
use your introductory paragraph to outline the way in which you propose to tackle the
question.
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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Note down the points you want to include. They may not occur to you in the order in
which you eventually use them in your essay. That doesn’t matter. First note them
down, then sort them out into a coherent plan. You will often find that at the planning
stage it’s useful to read through the notes you have made on the poem or poems in
question, as well as the poems themselves. As you do this, ideas and relevant quotes
will occur to you. Note them down before you forget them!
Once you have a good idea of what you want to put in your essay, you can note down
the points you want to include in your final paragraph. Don’t just repeat what you said
in your first paragraph, but make sure that you tie in your conclusion with the wording
of the question. At this stage you may not know exactly what you want to put in the
last paragraph. That doesn’t matter too much. If you have constructed a good plan,
you will find that words and phrases for your last paragraph will occur to you as you
write the essay. Note them down before you forget them.
Once you are satisfied with your plan, write out your essay. Aim to write about 3
three sides of A4 on average. Try to illustrate all the points you are making by
referring to the text. If you get into this habit now, you will find it easier to do so in
an exam. Also try not to repeat yourself. A good plan usually makes it easier to
avoid this fault. Don’t worry if your essay is too long; this is less of a crime (and also
less common) than not writing enough. Your teacher will tell you where you have
gone wrong, and you can do better next time.
Questions from past papers
At regular intervals you will find some questions from past CSYS Interpretation
papers. These provide practice in answering questions similar to those you are likely
to find in Assessment Tests and in the final exam. Most of them require close and
careful reference to the texts of the poems. Unless your teacher has told you to do
these questions under test conditions, you should refer to your notes (and any other
relevant sources of information) as much as necessary. On completion your answers
should be handed in for your teacher to mark.
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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SECTION ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION AND THE POEMS OF
CATULLUS
A General introduction
You can find the information you need for this section in various books, such as:
 J. Wight Duff, A Literary History of Rome from the Origins to the Close of the
Golden Age
 Oxford Classical Dictionary
 Oxford Companion to Classical Literature
Don’t spend a lot of time on these two questions. Their purpose is simply to provide
you with a general overview of elegiac poetry in Classical Greek and Latin.
1. What is elegy? Write a short history of elegiac poetry from its beginnings down
to the time of Catullus.
2. Who were the main Alexandrian poets? What kind of poetry did they write, and
what features of their poetry influenced the Latin elegists?
B Introduction to Catullus
Material for this section can be found in the introduction to the Penguin translation of
Catullus, any edition of Catullus’ poetry, or any of the reference books mentioned on
page 2.
1. Write a short biographical note on Catullus. This should include a brief
description of the kind of poetry he wrote, and how his poetry managed to survive
into our own time.
2. ‘Lesbia’ is a pseudonym. Who was this woman, and why did Catullus call her
‘Lesbia’?
3. Although you will not be studying Catullus’ poetry in Latin, it will be useful for
you to know something about the different kinds of metre in which he wrote his
poetry. Find out what you can about ‘hendecasyllables’, ‘Sapphic stanza’ and
‘elegiac couplets’, and write brief notes.
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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C Catullus’ First and Last Poems to Lesbia
Read poems 24 (Catullus LI) and 23 (Catullus XI). These are not necessarily the first
and the last poems Catullus wrote to Lesbia, but they certainly seem to describe
incidents at the beginning and end of the relationship. Make notes as follows:
1. Poem 24:
(a) What was the occasion of poem 24?
(b) What sensations is Catullus describing in this poem?
(c) Is it a successful poem? Explain your answer.
2. Poem 23:
(a) Who were Furius and Aurelius? (N.B. If they were really Catullus’ friends
would he be asking them to take this message?)
(b) Look at the construction of poem 23. It is written in six stanzas, with the first
three explaining why Catullus has chosen Furius and Aurelius to carry his
message, and the last three containing the message. Can you contrast the two
halves of the poem in any other way?
3. Compare poem 23 with poem 24. What similarities and differences can you see?
Find out which metre the original Latin poems were written in and include this in
your comparison.
D The Hendecasyllabic Poems
Read poem 21 (Catullus III) and poem 22 (Catullus VII). Make notes as follows for
each one:
1. (a) What is the poem about?
(b) How serious is it?
(c) How original does it seem to be?
2. What impression of the character of Lesbia does the reader obtain from these
poems?
3. Compare and contrast poems 21 and 22. Consider such things as tone, style and
use of figurative language (e.g. metaphor, repetition, imagery).
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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E The Elegiac Poems
Read poem 25 (Catullus LXX), poem 26 (Catullus LXXII), poem 27 (Catullus
LXXVI) and poem 28 (Catullus LXXV). Answer the following questions:
1. These four poems are written in elegiac couplets in Latin, but are different in style
and subject matter.
(a) Briefly sum up the theme and content of each poem.
(b) Compare these poems with one another, looking in particular at style and
subject matter. What similarities and differences are there?
2. Compare these poems with poems 23 and 24 (Catullus XI and LI). What
similarities and differences are there between each group of poems?
F Essay
What do you find of interest in Catullus’ poetry?
(20)
G An overview of Catullus
There are two ways in which you can use this section:
EITHER as revision of Catullus’ poetry before an assessment test
OR as part of your final revision programme before the external Advanced Higher
exam.
You may feel that what you are being asked to do in this section is unnecessarily
detailed, but if you draw up a revision plan for yourself, working over a period of
days or even weeks, you will find that the task is much less daunting. You can do
some revision of Catullus while also working on Ovid or Propertius, for example, and
you will often find that interesting ways of comparing the poets occur to you as a
result.
The following questions are the ones you are most likely to be asked about Catullus,
although the actual wording of the questions may vary. Make notes for each one.
Your notes should include appropriate quotations to illustrate the points you make.
Please remember that it’s important for you to write these notes down. If you just
think about them, you will not find it so easy to recall them in an exam; the mere
process of writing things down helps you to remember. It’s also easier for you to
ensure that you haven’t forgotten anything, and is a very useful way to test yourself
on what you know. If you find while working on these questions that there is
something you can’t quite remember, look it up and note it down. When you have
finished, check these notes against the notes you had made earlier on each poem.
Have you missed anything out? Have your ideas and opinions about Catullus’ poetry
changed in any way?
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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1. How original is Catullus’ poetry?
2. What are his main themes and interests?
3. What kind of variety is there in his poetry?
4. Which of his poems do you like, and why?
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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SECTION TWO: TIBULLUS
A Introduction to Tibullus
Find out what you can about Tibullus and his poetry, using any of the reference books
listed on at the beginning of this Study Guide.
Write a note on Tibullus, including such biographical details as you can find, as well
as notes on his poetry. Your notes on his poetry should mention the subject-matter,
style and possible influence of his poetry on other writers. (You may not be able to
complete these notes until you have read some of Tibullus’ poems. Leave a space in
your notes, and come back later to fill in the space.)
B The poetry of Tibullus
You will find that there is not as much variety in Tibullus’ subject-matter and style as
there was in Catullus. It should therefore be possible for you to make notes on each
of his poems by following this procedure for each one:
1. Read the poem, referring to the notes in Section C below as necessary.
2. Summarise the poem.
3. What features of the poem are typical of Latin love-poetry in general?
4. What features of the poem are typical of Tibullus himself?
5. What use does he make of imagery and mythology? You may have covered all
of this already in your answers to 2 or 3. If so, there is no need to repeat yourself.
Simply note down ‘see question 2/3 above’.
C Notes on the prescribed poems
Poem 37 (Tibullus I.1)
Since this is the first poem in Tibullus’ collection, it can be assumed that he is using it
to set out his ‘programme’ – which is the rejection of the soldier’s life in favour of
love and a life in the country. He suggests that the soldier’s life is based on greed,
whereas he prefers simplicity and poverty. Also, the life of a farmer is concerned
with the continuation of life, another contrast with military life.
This elegy is typical of Tibullus in the way in which a number of themes are
interwoven to form a unified whole. Love is only one of these. It is also typical of its
time in its escapist rejection of the harsher side of life.
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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lines 1-40
These lines contrast the dangers of the soldier’s life with life in the
country, where participation in rural cults and festivals plays an
important part. The soldier’s life is rejected because it is harsh and
encourages greed.
line 15
Ceres was the Roman goddess of agriculture.
line 18
Priapus was god of gardens and fertility. His statue, painted red and
with an erect penis, was often set up as a scarecrow.
line 20
The Lares Compitales were the guardians of the fields and the
buildings in them.
lines 21-22
This is probably a reference to the Ambarvalia, a ceremony of
purification in which the sacrificial victims were led round the
boundaries of the land, followed by the worshippers taking part in
the ceremony. Note that Tibullus is suggesting that his family was
once wealthy enough to sacrifice a heifer, whereas he himself is
poor now, and can afford only a lamb.
line 36
Pales was the goddess of shepherds. Her festival was the Palilia,
held on 21st April, which was the traditional day of the founding of
Rome by Romulus. Apart from the fact that milk is an appropriate
thing to offer to this goddess, it was believed in ancient times that
milk had a magical quality, and could be used to appease gods and
ghosts.
lines 41-52
These lines link the two parts of the poem by looking back to the
themes of country life while also gradually introducing the theme of
love.
lines 43-46
In these lines, Tibullus is deliberately contrasting the comfort of
country life with the discomforts associated with military life.
line 47
Auster, the south wind, was traditionally regarded as rainy and
stormy.
lines 53-74
These lines contrast military life with the lover’s life. In this half of
the poem there are many themes common to Latin love elegy.
line 53
Messala was Marcus Valerius Messala Corvinus (64 BC – AD 8),
soldier, orator and statesman. He was Tibullus’ patron and a close
friend of Augustus.
line 55
Bonds of love are a common theme in Latin love poetry. The
lover’s closed door in line 56 is another. The door was sometimes
personified (as in poem 33: Propertius, I.16). The door-keeper was
often chained to his post.
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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lines 67-68
It was customary for the mourners at funerals to tear their hair and
scratch their cheeks as a token of grief, and as a kind of offering to
the dead. Tibullus shows his concern for Delia by asking her not to
spoil her looks for him.
lines 75-78
These lines link the main themes of love, the simple country life,
war and riches. Tibullus’ dream of an ideal rural life is not unique,
but was also a theme that was popular with other poets of his time.
Poem 38 (Tibullus, I.2)
This poem combines a number of traditional motifs in the one poem. It is in fact a
version of the paraclausithuron, beginning and ending with Tibullus on his mistress’s
doorstep.
The paraclausithuron (or poem ‘in front of a shut door’) is a particular type of love
poem in which the lover is shut out of is mistress’s house and spends the night on her
doorstep. Ovid (poem 6), Propertius (poem 33) and Horace (poem 43) each have their
own variation on this theme. There is an old Scottish students’ song which shows that
the paraclausithuron has remained popular through the centuries. In this song the
woman pays no attention, and the lover eventually goes away having caught a cold
after his all-night vigil! The chorus goes like this:
‘Open your window, the night is beastly dark.
The phantoms are dancing in the West End Park.
Open your window your lover brave to see,
I’m here all alone and there’s no-one here but me.’
lines 1-4
Tibullus wants to get drunk.
line 3
Bacchus was the god of wine. Here Bacchus represents the wine
itself. This is an example of ‘metonymy’ – a figure of speech in
which one thing is substituted for another which is closely related to
it.
lines 5-14
The address to the girl’s closed door was traditional.
lines 15-24
Tibullus gives instructions to Delia on how to escape.
lines 25-40
The terrors of the city at night, from which Venus will protect him.
lines 41-64
The powers of the witch whom Tibullus has consulted, and who has
cast a spell so that Delia’s husband won’t know what his wife is up
to.
lines 41-42
Possibly a reference to the myth of the birth of Venus/Aphrodite
from the sea-foam, or possibly referring to the fact that she was
widely worshipped as a goddess of the sea and seafaring.
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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line 53
Medea, who helped Jason bring the Golden Fleece back from
Colchis to Greece, was the most famous witch of Greek mythology.
(See also poem 39, line 55.)
line 54
Hecate was an ancient goddess, usually associated with witchcraft
and uncanny incidents.
lines 67-80
The man who can ignore a girl like this one in preference for
warfare must be a fool. But Tibullus is happy to let him go to war,
as long as he can live in rural bliss with Delia.
line 69
Cilicia was in Asia Minor, in Tibullus’ time on the frontier of the
Roman empire.
lines 81-end
Tibullus wants to avoid angering Venus, for he knows the penalty.
Poem 39 (Tibullus II.4)
In Book II of his poems, Tibullus’ mistress is called Nemesis. This poem uses many
of the conventional themes of love poetry (can you identify them?), but Tibullus
makes it special by the intensity and hyperbole of the imagery, especially in the
closing lines.
lines 1-12
Tibullus is unhappily in love.
lines 13-20
Poetry is of no use to him in keeping his mistress.
Apollo was the god of poetry. The nine Muses were goddesses
associated with various arts including poetry.
lines 21-38
The only way to win this woman is with expensive gifts, which
Tibullus can’t afford unless he commits a crime. The only good
thing about Venus is her beauty, because she brings so much evil
into the world.
lines 28-29
Tyrian purple was a very expensive dye. Coan silk was not pure
silk, but a type of tussore silk, manufactured on the island of Cos.
Like Tyrian purple, it was very expensive. See also poem 30
(Propertius, I.2), line 3. The ‘Red Sea’s iridescent shell’ is motherof-pearl.
lines 39-50
Tibullus addresses Nemesis, his mistress, hoping that some calamity
will destroy her ill-gotten gains, and warning her that when she dies
no-one will mourn her as much as a less grasping girl would be
mourned.
lines 51-end
Tibullus is prepared to sell his ancestral home or drink poison if that
will win Nemesis over.
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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line 55
Circe and her niece Medea were two notorious witches in classical
mythology. Circe gave Odysseus’ men a magic potion which turned
them all into pigs. Medea had used her magic to help Jason win the
Golden Fleece, but when Jason eventually abandoned her and
married another woman, she gave Jason’s bride a wedding garment
which burst into flames when worn.
line 56
Thessaly in Greece was renowned for two things – the high quality
of horses bred there; and the unusually high number of skilled
magicians.
line 57
The hippomanes is a slimy liquid that pours from a mare when in
heat, and which was used as a love potion.
D Essay
The Roman teacher and critic Quintilian described Tibullus’ poetry as ‘tersus
atque elegans’ (polished and elegant). How would you describe it?
(20)
E Revising Tibullus
1. Make a list of the themes you have found in Tibullus’ poetry. Give at least two
examples of each one.
2. Make a list of the mythological references you have found in these poems.
Explain Tibullus’ purpose in using each of them.
3. What conventions of love poetry does Tibullus use (e.g. love/war; rejected
lover)? Find examples of each one.
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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SECTION THREE: OVID, AMORES (SELECTIONS)
A Introduction to Ovid
1. Find out what you can about Ovid. (You will soon discover that we know more
about him than about most of the other poets you are studying.)
2. Write a biographical note on Ovid, including a brief account of his poetry (don’t
write about his poetic style, as we will be coming back to that later; just list his
main poems and say what they were about).
3. Read section 2 of Barsby’s Introduction. Much of this will already be familiar to
you. What do you learn from this section about the relationship between Ovid and
earlier love-poets?
4. Read section 3 of Barsby’s Introduction. What do you learn here about Ovid’s
love poetry?
B Poems 1-14 (Amores, Book I)
(Note: You will be reading poems 1-3, 4 (lines 1-34), 5-6, 9-11, and 13-14 in Latin,
and poems 4 (lines 35-70), 7, 8 and 12 in English. When working on the poems to be
read in Latin, you should always make YOUR OWN translation of each poem, before
going on to answer the questions on it. This is important, as you will not fully
understand the subtleties of Ovid’s poetry if you rely entirely on a translation, and you
will not therefore be able to answer some of the questions on Ovid, either in this
Study Guide, or in an exam.
The first question on each poem asks you to summarise it. This is a good way of
making sure you understand the theme and general content of each poem. Although it
is the first question, you may find it easier to do it last, after you have worked through
the other questions on that poem. It doesn’t really matter whether you do it first or
last, as long as you do it.)
Poem 1 (Amores, I.1)
1. Write a short summary of the poem.
2. Why does Ovid pretend he was planning to write an epic poem?
3. Who are Venus, Minerva, Phoebus and Mars; and why are they in this poem?
4. Judging by the style and content of this introductory poem, what kind of poetry
would you expect in the rest of the book?
5. Practice Question (CSYS Paper I, 1996, Question 1, (a)-(c))
(a) Look at lines 1-4. Show how Ovid makes these lines witty.
(4)
(b) Look at lines 5-12. What objections does Ovid make to Cupid’s
interference?
(4)
(c) Look at lines 24-30. Show how Ovid’s choice of words and themes at
the end of the poem echo the content of lines 1-6.
(5)
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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Poem 2 (Amores, I.2)
1. Write a short summary of this poem.
2. Make a list of all the conventions of love poetry in this poem.
3. In what ways does Ovid’s treatment of the idea of being in love differ from the
way in which Catullus and Tibullus write about being in love? Quote from each
poet to illustrate your answer.
4. Ovid describes himself in lines 23-48 as a prisoner-of-war in a triumphal
procession led by Cupid, the conquering general.
(a) Read the description of a military triumph in The Oxford Classical Dictionary
(or any other suitable reference book), and write a short account of a typical
Roman triumph.
(b) What are the differences between this typical Roman triumph and the
procession described by Ovid?
(c) Why does Ovid compare Cupid with Bacchus?
(d) In what ways does Ovid bring his picture to life?
5. Why does Ovid refer to ‘Caesaris’ in line 51?
6. What features in this poem are typical of Ovid’s style? (Leave a few lines blank
after your answer to this question. You will probably wish to add to it later, when
you are revising Ovid’s poetry.
7. Practice Question (CSYS Paper 1, 1990, Question 1, (a) and (b))
(a) Look at lines 23-48. Show how Ovid has adapted the traditions and
trappings of a Roman triumph to fit the character of Cupid.
(10)
(b) Look at lines 1-22.
(i) Explain how the main theme of these lines serves as an
appropriate introduction to the triumph scene which follows.
(2)
(ii) Show how Ovid links these lines with the triumph scene by his use
of particular words and images. You should quote the Latin to
support your answer.
(5)
Poem 3 (Amores I.3)
1. Write a short summary of this poem.
2. In what ways does Ovid imitate earlier love-poets?
3. Comment on the image of the desultor amoris (line 15).
4. Who were Io, Leda and Europa? What is the parallel between them and Ovid’s
mistress? And what conclusions are you being invited to draw about her identity?
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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5. What does this suggest to you about the love affair Ovid is going to write about in
subsequent poems? In answering this, try to explain why Ovid so far hasn’t
mentioned his mistress’s name.
6. How serious is this poem?
Poem 4 (Amores, I. 4)
1. Write a short summary of this poem.
2. How important is the phrase vir tuus in line 1 to the reader’s conception of the
kind of woman Ovid’s mistress is?
3. Explain the reference in lines 7-10. (You may find it useful to read Ovid’s
account of the story in Metamorphoses XII.210-535; Penguin translation, pages
273-282).
4. Ovid spends most of the poem instructing the girl how she is to behave at the
dinner-party. Briefly describe the situation which Ovid is imagining.
5. In this poem Ovid mixes conventional features of love- poetry with ideas of his
own. How successful has he been in creating an interesting and original poem?
6. What difference does the final couplet make to your understanding of the poem?
(i.e. does it change your ideas about who the poem was for, or how serious a poem
it was?)
Poem 5 (Amores, I. 5)
1. Write a short summary of this poem.
2. Barsby (p. 67) describes lines 1-8 of this poem as “an arresting opening”. By
means of a detailed examination of these lines, explain why he describes it like
this.
3. Why does Ovid refer to Semiramis and Lais (lines 11-12)?
4. In the three sections of the poem (lines 1-8, 9-16, 17-26) Ovid uses different
methods of description for different purposes. What are these methods and
purposes?
5. Find a copy of John Donne’s Elegy to his Mistris Going to Bed. (Try the school
library, or the English Department.) Donne was an English poet who lived at the
same time as Shakespeare. Some of his poetry shows the influence of Ovid.
(a) What ideas has Donne taken from Ovid’s poem?
(b) Which of the two poems do you prefer, and why?
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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Poem 6 (Amores, I. 6)
1. Write a brief summary of this poem.
2. Why does Ovid use the refrain tempora noctis eunt; excute poste seram (lines 24
etc)?
3. What effect is gained by repeating the word excute (lines 24 and 25)?
4. What was the story of Boreas and Orithyia referred to in lines 53-54? (Refer to
Metamorphoses VI.675-721 - Penguin translation pp. 153-54.)
5. This is Ovid’s version of the paraclausithuron. What innovations has he
introduced into this traditional form of love poetry, and with what success?
6. Essay: Compare and contrast this poem with poem 38 (Tibullus I.2).
Consider such things as theme, use of imagery and the conventions of love
poetry. Which poem do you prefer, and why?
(20)
Poem 7 (Amores, I. 7)
1. Write a brief summary of this poem.
2. (a) Explain the references to Ajax, Orestes, Schoeneus’ daughter, the Cretan
princess and Cassandra.
(b) What do these mythical figures have in common with one another?
(c) What (if anything) has Ovid gained by introducing these references into his
poem?
3. In lines 19-30 Ovid gives a more detailed account of the occasion on which he
struck Corinna. What has he done to give these lines a note of realism?
4. What effect has he achieved by placing this account where it is – between two sets
of mythological references?
5. Who was Tydeus’ son, and in what way does his behaviour resemble Ovid’s?
6. In lines 35-41 Ovid uses the image of a Roman general riding in a triumphal
procession. In which other poem does he use a similar image? What similarities
and differences are there in these two poems?
7. In lines 43-58 Ovid uses a series of similes. What are they and why does he use
them?
8. What evidence can you find in the poem, from beginning to end, to suggest that
Ovid is not serious in this poem?
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Poem 8 (Amores, I. 8)
1. Write a brief summary of this poem.
2. Who is Dipsas? What similar character was there in Tibullus’ poetry, and in what
ways do these two characters differ?
3. Explain the references to Memnon and Aeaea.
4. It’s clear from line 21 that Ovid was eavesdropping. What difference does this
make to your reading of the poem?
5. What does Ovid do to introduce some novelty into the standard love-elegy
character of the rich rival lover?
6. From what you know of Augustus’ attitude to morality, how do you feel the
Roman establishment would have reacted to lines 39-44?
7. Explain the reference to Penelope in lines 47-48.
8. What do you think was Ovid’s purpose in writing this poem?
Poem 9 (Amores, I. 9)
1. Write a brief summary of this poem.
2. What points of similarity does Ovid make between the soldier and the lover?
3. Write a critical analysis of lines 1-20 of this poem. (That is, write about the
subject-matter and theme, and describe the poetic techniques – such as rhythm,
figures of speech, imagery, conventions of love poetry – which Ovid has used to
enhance the subject-matter and theme.)
4. Explain the references to:
(a) Thracian Rhesus (lines 23-24)
(b) Briseis and Achilles (lines 33-34)
(c) Hector and Andromache (lines 35-36)
(d) the son of Atreus and Priam’s daughter (lines 37-38)
(e) Mars (lines 39040).
5. Practice Question: (CSYS Paper I, 1990, question 2, adapted)
Using poem 9 (Amores I.9) as your source, discuss the view of the Roman
critic Quintilian that Ovid was ‘too much in love with his own ingenuity’.
Do you consider that this poem shows Ovid’s style in a favourable light or
not?
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
(20)
21
Poem 10 (Amores, I. 11)
1. Write a brief summary of this poem.
2. In what ways has Ovid attempted to present Nape to his readers as a realistic
character?
3. What features in this poem are typical of Ovid’s thought, style and structure?
Poem 11 (Amores, I. 12)
1. Write a brief summary of this poem.
2. What words in the first three lines suggest that this might be a serious poem?
3. In what way is this illusion shattered in the rest of the poem?
4. Give examples of Ovid’s use of rhetoric in this poem.
5. Practice Question (CSYS Paper I, 1993, Question 1 (a)-(f))
(a) Look at lines 1-6. How does Ovid emphasise his misery?
(3)
(b) Look at lines 4-5. Explain Ovid’s reference to the doorstep.
(2)
(c) Look at lines 8-12. Explain how Ovid indicates that the reply sent to
him was the very opposite of the one desired.
(3)
(d) Look at lines 15-22. Summarise the arguments used by Ovid.
(5)
(e) Look at lines 23-26. For which purposes does Ovid say that the tablets
would have been better suited?
(2)
(f) Look at lines 27-30. Comment on the effectiveness of the imagery
used by Ovid in these lines.
(5)
Poem 12 (Amores, I.13 )
1. Write a brief summary of this poem.
2. What is the legend of Aurora and her ‘doddering husband’, alluded to in lines 1-2?
3. What legends are referred to in lines 43-46?
4. In what way, if at all, does the closing couplet affect the seriousness of the whole
poem?
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Poem 13 (Amores, I. 14)
1. Write a brief summary of this poem.
2. In what ways, and how successfully, has Ovid attempted to turn a fairly mundane
topic into a poem of some elegance and wit?
3. Compare the use of witchcraft as a theme by Ovid here and in poem 8 (Amores,
I.8), and by Tibullus in poem 38 (Tibullus, I.2). What similarities and differences
can you find?
4. What is your opinion of this poem? Quote to illustrate your answer.
Poem 14 (Amores, I. 15)
1. Write a brief summary of this poem.
2. Why does Ovid find it necessary to defend his choice of poetry-writing as a
career? Is his defence convincing?
3. Who are Maeonides (line 9), Ascraeus (line 11) and Battiades (line 13)? In what
way is Ovid like them?
4. Who are Sophocles (line 15), Aratus (line 16) and Menander (line 18)? What do
they have in common?
5. Who are Ennius and Accius (line 19); Varro (line 21) and Lucretius (line 23)?
What do they have in common?
6. What poetry is referred to in line 25?
7. In lines 37-42, Ovid’s theme is commonplace. What is the theme? What does he
do to stamp his own character on this theme?
8. Practice Question (CSYS Paper I, 1992, Question 1 (a)-(c))
(a) Look at lines 9-30. Which techniques has Ovid used to avoid
monotony in his list of authors?
(10)
(b) Look at lines 29-30. Explain how these lines provide a link from the
list to the main theme of the poem.
(2)
(c) Show how Ovid links the first and last sections of the poem by his
choice of words and ideas. You should quote in Latin in your answer.
(5)
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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C
Overview of Amores, Book I
1. What are the main features of Ovid’s style? Find two examples of each one.
2. Essay: What are Ovid’s main themes in Amores, Book I? Which did you
find most interesting, and why?
(20)
D Amores, Books II and III
(You are required to read all of these poems in English translation.)
Poem 15 (Amores II.6)
1. Write a brief summary of this poem.
2. What is the story of Philomela referred to in lines 7-10? What is its connection
with the theme of this poem?
3. Who were Pylades and Orestes (line 15)? What connection is there between these
two characters and Ovid’s present theme?
4. Who were Thersites, Protesilaus and Hector (line 41)? What point is Ovid making
here by referring to these mythological characters?
5. What is significant about the mention of Corinna in line 48?
6. Is the parrot a suitable companion for the birds referred to in lines 53-56? Why do
you say this?
7. This poem is a parody of an epicedion (commemorative lament). How successful
is it?
8. Practice Question (CSYS Paper I, 1990, question 3 (c)):
Compare poem 15 by Ovid (Amores II.6) with poem 21 by Catullus
(Catullus III). What differences are there in the tone and emphasis of these
two poems?
(5)
Poem 16 (Amores II.7)
1. Write a brief summary of this poem.
2. How convinced are you by Ovid’s argument in this poem? Refer to the text to
illustrate your answer.
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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Poem 17 (Amores II.8)
1. Write a brief summary of this poem.
2. Explain the references to Achilles and Briseis, Agamemnon and Cassandra in
lines 11-13.
3. Poems 16 and 17 have to be read together as a dramatic pair, and one in which the
persona of Ovid is presented very effectively. How is “Ovid” characterised?
4. What similarities and differences do you find in poems 16 and 17?
5. Compare this pair of poems with poems 10 and 11 (Amores I, 11-12). Which pair
do you prefer and why?
Poem 18 (Amores III.2)
1. Write a brief summary of this poem.
2. What is the myth about Pelops and Hippodamia which is alluded to in lines 1516? Why does Ovid use it here?
3. What is the myth about Atalanta and Milanion which is alluded to in lines 29-30?
Why does Ovid use it here? In what way is it similar to the myth about Pelops
and Hippodamia?
4. Who was Diana the huntress (line 31)?
5. What is being described in lines 44-56?
6. Obviously, this poem is a dramatic monologue. However, there is some argument
about exactly what situation we are supposed to imagine here. Read the
introductory note to this poem on pages 311-13 of the Penguin translation, briefly
explain what the problem is, and what situation is most likely being described
here.
7. Essay: To what extent would you say that this is a typical Ovidian poem?
(You may use any of Ovid’s other poems which you consider to be
appropriate in answering this question.)
(20)
Poem 19 (Amores III.9)
1. Write a brief summary of this poem (the introductory note on pages 324-25 of the
Penguin translation will help you divide it into sections).
2. Who were Memnon and Achilles (line 1), who were their mothers, and why are
they mentioned here?
3. Aeneas died (line 14), but his brother Cupid didn’t. Why?
4. Who was Adonis (line 17)?
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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What happened to Orpheus (line 21)?
5. What point is Ovid making in lines 14-31)? Is it an unusual or a very
commonplace idea?
6. What comparison is Ovid making between lines 14-31 and lines 31-34?
7. Why was Venus ‘queen of Eryx’ (line 45)?
8. In lines 60-64, why does Ovid think Tibullus will be in Elysium? And who does
Ovid think will be his natural companions there?
9.
Practice Question (CSYS Paper I, 1990, question 3 (a)-(b))
(a) Compare Ovid’s funeral elegy for Corinna’s parrot (poem 15; Amores
II.6) with his elegy on the death of Tibullus (poem 19; Amores III.9).
What similarities of content and structure are there in these two
poems?
(15)
(b) What touches of humour has Ovid added to the elegy for the parrot?
(5)
Poem 20 (Amores III.12)
1. Write a brief summary of this poem.
2. This poem is almost overloaded with mythological allusions. What are they all?
3. What point is Ovid making in lines 14-18? In what other poems does Ovid make
the same point? Why does he keep coming back to it?
4. What evidence is there in this poem to suggest that Corinna doesn’t really exist?
E An overview of Ovid’s Love Poetry
1. Look back at your answer to question 4 on poem 1 (Amores I.1). Now that you
have finished your study of Ovid’s love poetry, would you say that your
expectations have been fulfilled? Give a few examples to illustrate your answer.
2. Essay: Barsby, p.17, writes ‘Ovid’s idea was the brilliant one of turning love
elegy upside-down by refusing to take it seriously’. Support or refute this
statement by referring to the poems you have read.
(20)
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
26
F Some suggestions for revising Ovid’s Love Poetry
1. Revise all mythological references.
2. Look for points of similarity between two or more of Ovid’s poems.
3. Look for points of similarity/difference between Ovid and the other poets you
have studied. In particular, compare:
(a) their use of mythology
(b) their relative seriousness
(c) the reality of the situations they are describing
(d) the language and imagery they use.
4. Look for examples of Ovid’s wit and use of rhetoric.
5. Look for examples of Ovid’s interest in writing epic poetry. (And do you think he
would have been good at writing epic?)
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
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Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
28
SECTION FOUR: THE POETRY OF PROPERTIUS
A Introduction to Propertius
1. Read the introduction to the Penguin translation and the notes on Propertius from
Luck, The Latin Love Elegy (See Appendix 1, pages 41-53 below). If you don’t
have the Penguin translation, you will be able to find relevant information in other
books – for example, The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, or Gilbert
Highet, Poets in a Landscape.
2. Write a brief biography of Propertius, based on your reading. What do we know
of his life? What have you learned about his poetry?
B The elegies of Propertius
Because the development of thought in Propertius’ poems can sometimes be difficult
to follow, I have indicated how to divide up the poems into sections when you are
summarising them. I have also included some supplementary notes. Those on poems
29, 31 and 36 are based on material in Robert Maltby, Latin Love Elegy (Bristol
Classical Press, 1980).
Poem 29 (Propertius I.1)
This introductory poem is designed to prepare readers for a collection of highly
personal poems about the poet’s love for Cynthia. Its theme of unhappy love, and the
feeling that he is different from other men because of the intensity of this love, is
typical of Propertius. The intensity of feeling and its serious, even gloomy tone,
contrast strongly with the simplicity and charm of poems 30 and 31 which
immediately follow it.
The abrupt juxtaposition of succeeding sections is also typical. One reason for this
abruptness is the wish to show the inner turmoil of a man in the grip of intense
passion.
One point to consider when reading Propertius’ poetry is this: what interests him
most? Cynthia? His own feelings? Or is he simply showing what elegant poems he
can write?
There are seven well-defined sections:
1-8
Propertius’ unhappy love
9-16
myth of Milanion
17-18 relevance of myth to Propertius
19-24 appeal for help to witches
25-30 appeal for help to friends
31-34 Propertius contrasted with successful lovers
35-38 warning to other lovers
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29
lines 9-18
The Milanion myth illustrates the idea that obedient service brings
success in love (but for Propertius this no longer applies).
Propertius’ version of the myth differs from the usual one in which
Atalanta challenged her suitors to a foot race which was won by
Hippomenes. He threw down a golden apple which Atalanta. He
threw down a golden apple, which Atalanta stopped to pick up.
line 10
Tullus is a friend of Propertius who doesn’t understand the intensity
of Propertius’ passion.
lines 20-31
There is some inconsistency in Propertius’ appeal to witches to
make Cynthia love him (lines 20-25), and his appeal to friends to
cure him of his love (lines 26-31). By juxtaposing these two
contradictory sections, Propertius underlines the central dilemma of
his love/hate relationship with Cynthia. Compare this elaborate,
erudite poem with Catullus’ much shorter statement of the same
dilemma in Poem 28.
lines 30-31
The idea of foreign travel as a cure for love is a traditional one.
Questions for you to answer:
1. Write a brief summary of this poem. (Sections are as indicated above)
2. What was Cynthia’s real identity?
3. (a) Write notes on the myth of Milanion (N.B. Propertius’ version differs from
the traditional version).
(b) In what way is this myth relevant to Propertius?
(c) Compare Propertius’ use of this myth with Ovid’s use of the same myth in
poem 18 (Amores III.2). What similarities and differences do you see?
(d) In what other poems by which other authors does the theme of witchcraft
occur? What similarities and differences do you see in the treatment of this
theme by the different authors?
4. Propertius intended this poem as an introduction to his collection of love elegies.
How successful is it as an introduction? (You may wish to come back to this
question when you have read his other poems, rather than try to answer it now.)
5. Practice Question (CSYS Paper I, 1996, question 1 (d)):
Compare poem 1 by Ovid (Amores I.1) with poem 29 (Propertius I.1).
Both these poems were written as introductions to each poet’s collection.
How well does each poem show the attitudes of the poet to his mistress,
being in love, and the writing of poetry? Support your answer by referring
to the texts.
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30
Poem 30 (Propertius I.2)
Propertius begins with a simple, direct address to Cynthia, but the apparent simplicity
conceals a clever paradox. Propertius is praising simplicity in dress and adornment,
using the simple beauty of nature as an analogy. But in fact this poem in praise of
natural beauty is a highly-wrought work of art. Propertius uses two contrasting series
of exempla to argue his case: the first (lines 11-16) argues the case from nature; the
second (lines 17-27) uses four elegantly-phrased references to mythological women
whose beauty was unadorned. The references to Phoebus, Calliope, Venus and
Minerva (lines 30-34) are less obscure, but Propertius is still using a rather erudite
technique to make a fairly simple point. Propertius begins and ends in a colloquial
tone, so that the poem modulates from colloquial to simple to elaborate to colloquial.
The ‘Art versus Nature’ debate is a commonplace of literature. (One of the best
examples in English literature is in Act IV of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale.)
Propertius’ version is particularly disingenuous, since he is pretending to endorse
nature when in fact he is doing the opposite. His closing line suggests that in fact his
real objection to Cynthia’s appearance is its financial cost.
Questions for you to answer:
1. Write a brief summary of this poem. (Sections are: lines 1-10, 11-16, 17-27, 28-66).
2. Explain the references to ‘Coan silk’ (line 3) and ‘Orontean myrrh’ (line 4).
3. (a) Explain the mythological references in lines 17-23.
(b) Why does Propertius use these myths?
4. Who was Apelles (line 24), and why does Propertius refer to him here?
5. (a) Who are Phoebus, Calliope, Venus and Minerva (lines 30-34)?
(b) What point is Propertius making by referring to them here?
6. Compare and contrast this poem with poem 13 (Ovid, Amores, I.14). Which do
you prefer, and why?
Poem 31 (Propertius I.3)
This is one of Propertius’ best poems. The theme of the lover coming in to find his
mistress asleep is probably a traditional one, but Propertius has developed it into a
complex poem with his characteristic blend of myth and reality. The poem has often
been interpreted as exploring the contrast between the illusion of an idealised,
sleeping Cynthia and the reality of the true Cynthia as she wakes to scold Propertius.
The interpretation is valid up to a point, but it is almost impossible to separate out the
real experience of a night visit from the embellishments of the poetic imagination.
The realism of Propertius’ unsteady entrance in line 11 provides a sharp contrast to
the idyllic opening lines, but in line 19 this very drunkenness causes Propertius
himself to fall into a kind of trance. Similarly the content of Cynthia’s taunts in lines
35-40 sounds realistic enough, but this soon modulates into the elaborate language of
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
31
the poem’s opening lines. The constant interweaving of the mythical and the real,
reflected in the juxtaposition of elaborate and more colloquial language, provides a
vivid representation of a real situation as experienced by someone in a drunken state.
1-10
11-18
19-30
31-34
35-46
Sleeping Cynthia compared with three mythological heroines
Drunkenness and desire bring him close to rape, but he holds back when
remembering Cynthia’s anger.
Captivated by her beauty he now falls into a trance-like state of admiration.
Cynthia is wakened by moonbeams.
Cynthia reproaches Propertius for deserting her and looking for amusement
elsewhere.
lines 1-8
The stately opening images establish the world of mythology and
prepare for the idealised picture of Cynthia asleep. Each exemplum
presents a strong visual image, suggesting that Propertius may have
been thinking of actual paintings which would have been familiar to
his readers.
The relevance of the myths gradually becomes clear:
(i) Ariadne was deserted by Theseus, just as Cynthia was deserted
by Propertius
(ii) Andromeda sleeps after intense suffering (compare lines 41-44)
(iii) a Bacchante (worshipper of Bacchus/Dionysus) sleeps after the
exertion of her dance (in lines 41-42 Cynthia tried to bring on
sleep by singing; but remember that Bacchantes were
notoriously vicious when woken – just like Cynthia!).
line 30
Propertius, like Argus, wants to protect Cynthia from the attentions
of unwanted lovers – even though they are only the lovers of her
dreams. There is, of course, strong irony in his wish to protect
Cynthia from these dream lovers in view of his own real desires (see
lines 13-16).
lines 39-40
A neat role-reversal: Cynthia’s complaints resemble those of the
conventional shut-out lover.
line 42
Orpheus, the mythical singer and lyre-player, lost his wife Eurydice
to the underworld. The fact that he was later torn to pieces by
Maenads (worshippers of Dionysus) reinforces Cynthia’s
connection with the Bacchante.
Questions for you to answer:
1. Write a brief summary of this poem. (Sections are: Lines 1-10, 11-16, 17-18, 1930, 31-33, 34-47)
2. Explain the mythological references in lines 1-6. For each one, explain the
connection with Cynthia (in lines 7-10).
3. Explain the reference to Argus and Inachus’ daughter (lines 19-20). In what way
is Propertius like Argus?
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32
Explain the reference to Orpheus in line 42. In what way is Cynthia like Orpheus?
4. The theme of lines 34-47 might be more familiar to you in another type of poem.
Can you identify the type of poem, and comment on Propertius’ use of it here?
5. Compare this poem with poem 5 (Ovid, Amores, I.5). Which do you prefer, and
why?
Poem 32 (Propertius I.7)
Propertius uses several commonplace themes in this poem, cleverly integrating them
into one unified poem:
 his choice of lyric poetry instead of epic as an artistic medium
 the metaphor of love being a kind of war
 the poet’s desire for his fame to live on after his death
 the ‘cruel mistress’ who is his inspiration.
Questions for you to answer
1. Write a brief summary of this poem. (Sections are: lines 1-8, 9-14, 15-21, 22-27)
2. Who was Ponticus (line 1)?
3. Explain the references to ‘Cadmean Thebes’ and ‘fraternal battle’ (lines 1-2), and
the ‘seven distant armies’ (line 18). Note that both references are to the same
myth!
4. Is this a poem about Propertius’ love for Cynthia, or a poem about love poetry?
Explain your answer.
5. Write a comparison of this poem with poem 1 (Ovid, Amores, I.1). Consider such
things as theme, tone, and imagery. Which poem do you prefer and why?
Poem 33 (Propertius I.16)
Catullus had earlier written a paraclausithuron in which the speaker was the door
itself. Propertius’ poem differs in that he imagines the door relating the words of the
shut-out lover, thus creating an intriguing little dramatic scene.
The talking door seems to be the door of a house which once belonged to a powerful
Roman aristocrat, but which is now inhabited by a disreputable woman with many
lovers. The door is ashamed of the job it has to do. The lines spoken by the lover
(lines 17-45) – which the door repeats for us – seem to suggest a man of some culture,
who knows how to compose an elegant poem. They end with the rather curious
picture of the lover apparently directing his love towards the door, not the woman
inside (lines 41-42).
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Questions for you to answer
1. Write a brief summary of this poem. (Sections are: lines 1-16, 17-26, 27-34, 3545, 46-49)
2. Make notes of the similarities and differences between this poem and similar
poems by Tibullus (poem 38; Tibullus, I.2) and Ovid (poem 6; Ovid Amores I.6).
3. Is there anything to suggest that this is a poem about Cynthia?
4. Explain the reference to Tarpeia in line 2.
5. Practice Question (CSYS Paper I, 1996, question 2 (d) adapted):
Compare Ovid’s poem 6 (Amores I.5) with Propertius’ poem 33 (Propertius
I.16). Discuss the use of the stock ‘locked out lover’ theme in both poems.
Which poem do you think shows most originality?
(10)
Poem 34 (Propertius I.19)
The idea of the lover dying of love because of his mistress’s cruelty is common
enough. Propertius introduces a novel idea: even greater than the fear of death itself
is the fear that Cynthia will not be alive to mourn for him, or – which is even worse –
that she will soon forget him.
Again, Propertius takes the simple commonplace theme ‘let’s love one another while
we may’ (line 25) and creates a complex poem by weaving into it:
 the fear of death
 the fear of abandonment
 appropriate mythological references.
It is interesting to compare this poem with poem 36 (Propertius IV.7), in which
Propertius imagines that Cynthia has died and that her ghost insists on her faithfulness
and his unfaithfulness (see notes on poem 36 below).
Questions for you to answer
1. Write a brief summary of this poem. (Sections are: lines 1-6, 7-10, 11-20, 21-26)
2. Who is the ‘Boy’ in line 5?
3. Explain the reference to ‘the sightless regions’ and Phylacides (line 7).
4. Explain the reference to the ‘troop of beautiful heroines’ (line 13).
5. Is this a morbid poem? Explain why you say this.
6.
Compare this poem with poem 37 (Tibullus I.1). Which poet’s treatment of the
themes of love and death do you find the more interesting, and why?
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Poem 35 (Propertius II.5)
This poem has another simple and commonplace theme: the lover whose mistress has
been unfaithful. There are three features which are found elsewhere in Propertius’
poetry:
 direct address to Cynthia in simple and straightforward language
 imagery drawn from nature
 apparent simplicity concealing elaborate artistry (use of exempla in lines 12-22,
use of occupatio in lines 23-26).
Questions for you to answer:
1 Write a brief summary of this poem. (Sections are: lines 1-9, 10-18, 19-22, 23-32)
2 What is there about this poem that makes it different from the other poems by
Propertius which you have read so far? Can you think of any explanation for this?
3 Compare and contrast this poem with poem 23 (Catullus XI) and poem 7 (Ovid,
Amores, I.7). What differences do you see in the tone and theme of these three
poems?
Poem 36 (Propertius IV.7)
This poem seems to have been written as last homage to Cynthia after her death. We
have no way of knowing whether this is an entirely fictional scenario, or whether
Cynthia really had died. It is a long and complex poem with a dramatic setting. The
structure is as follows:
1-12
Introductory scene-setting narrative in which Cynthia’s ghost appears
13-95
The ghost’s speech:
13-22 Propertius has forgotten their love
23-34 and has neglected her funeral
35-48 Cynthia was poisoned, and her place in Propertius’ heart taken by
another, who has tried to make him forget her.
(Then the mood changes from criticism to an expression of love)
49-54 Cynthia won’t reproach Propertius any more; she says she’s
remained faithful.
55-70 A description of the underworld, in which Cynthia associates herself
with faithful heroines of Elysium who have suffered for love.
71-86 Propertius is to look after her servants and tend her grave.
87-95 Cynthia warns Propertius to pay heed to this dream, and says that
they’ll be united in death.
95-96
The ghost departs.
It doesn’t really matter whether Propertius really saw Cynthia’s ghost, or merely
dreamed that he saw it. Dream was a common motif in Hellenistic poetry, but this
dream-poem may also reflect an actual event, since vivid dreams are common after
bereavement and often contain feelings of guilt towards the dead person.
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The ghost or dream – no clear distinction is made between the two – is presented as a
real and vivid product of Propertius’ (guilty) imagination. The accusations made by
the ghost are exaggerated far beyond the bounds of reality, in typical dreamlike
fashion, but they still give us an insight into Cynthia’s character. Cynthia’s emphasis
on her faithfulness in the second half of the speech is somewhat ironic, when you
remember Propertius’ earlier descriptions of her behaviour. When the love affair is
seen from Cynthia’s point of view, the customary lovers’ roles are reversed. Now it is
Cynthia who claims to have been faithful (line 53) and complains that Propertius has
been unfaithful (line 70).
The poem as a whole may be seen as a reversal of the situation in poem 34 (Propertius
I.19), in which Propertius imagines his own death and speaks of his love for Cynthia
surviving the grave. The overall tone of the poem is serious, but irony and humour
also play their part in this final portrait of Cynthia as a woman whose power over
Propertius persisted even after her death.
Questions for you to answer
1. Write a brief summary of this poem. (Sections are: Lines 1-12, 13-22, 23-34, 3548, 49-54, 55-70, 71-86,87-95, 96-97)
2. What is ‘Lethe’s water’ (line 10)?
3. (a) What is referred to by ‘Suburan secrets’ (line 15)?
(b) What commonplace of love-poetry is used in lines 13-20?
4. (a) What can you learn about Roman funeral customs from lines 22-34?
(b) In these lines, what kind of response do you think Propertius is trying to
evoke in his readers? Do you think he has succeeded?
5. Who are all the people mentioned in lines 35-48, and why are they being
punished?
6. Who were the Fates (line 51), Cerberus (lines 52 and 90) and the ferryman (line
92)?
7. (a) What is the ‘ugly Stream’ of line 55?
(b) Two different categories of legendary women are described. Two members
of the first category are described in lines 57-58. Who are they, and what
have they in common?
(c) Two members of the second category are described in lines 59-68. Who are
they and what have they in common?
8. What is Propertius’ purpose in including this description of Hades in his poem?
9. Who was Chloris (line 72)?
10. This poem is describing a dream, which may or may not be a real one. What has
Propertius done, and how successfully, to make this a vivid and realistic dream?
11. Compare this poem with poem 34 (Propertius I.19). What similarities and
differences are there in the tone and purpose of these two poems.
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C An overview of Propertius’ Poetry
1. Practice Question (CSYS Paper I, 1997, question 3)
Consider poems 29, 30, 31, 34 and 35 by Propertius (Propertius I.1,2,3,19;
II.5). What impressions do you get of:
(a) Propertius’ love affair with Cynthia;
(b) the personalities of Propertius and Cynthia?
(10)
(10)
2. Essay: Would you agree with the claim that Propertius is the most original of the
Latin love elegists?
(20)
D Some suggestions for revising Propertius’ Love Poetry
1. Revise all mythological references, and be able to explain why Propertius uses
them.
2. Look for points of similarity between two or more of his poems.
3. Look for points of similarity/difference between Propertius and the other poets
you have studied. In particular, compare:
(a) their use of mythology
(b) their use of the conventions of love poetry
(c) the language and imagery they use
(d) their originality.
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SECTION FIVE: THE POETRY OF HORACE
A Introduction to Horace
1. Read the introduction to the Penguin translation and the chapter on Horace in
Highet, Poets in a Landscape. Write a brief biography of Horace.
2. From what you have read about Horace, do you expect to see any points of
similarity or difference between the love poetry of Horace and the poetry of the
other poets you have studied?
B Horace’s Love Poetry
Poem 40 (Horace, Odes I.5)
Horace addresses Pyrrha, whose unfaithfulness no longer hurts him.
1. Briefly summarise the poem.
2. Explain the reference to the damp clothes hung up in the sea-god’s temple (in
lines 13-16).
3. Do you think Pyrrha is a real or a fictitious character? Why?
4. Compare this poem with poem 23 (Catullus XI). Which one appeals to you more
as the response of a rejected lover to the woman who has been unfaithful to him?
Explain why.
Poem 41 (Horace, Odes I.13)
Horace loves Lydia. She loves Telephus, who beats her up.
1. Briefly summarise the poem.
2. Why has Horace chosen the name Telephus for his rival in love?
3. Compare this poem with poem 7 (Ovid, Amores, I.7). What similarities and
differences are there in the tone and theme of these two poems?
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Poem 42 (Horace, Odes I.23)
Horace loves Chloe, who plays hard to get.
1. Briefly summarise the poem.
2. (a) What is the simile on which this poem is constructed?
(b) How effective is it?
3. Compare this poem with the other poems by Horace you have read so far. What
similarities do you find? How convinced are you that they are describing real love
affairs?
Poem 43 (Horace, Odes I.25)
Lydia is getting older, and losing her attraction for young men.
1 Briefly summarise the poem.
2 Explain the references to the ‘wind a bacchante from Thrace’ (lines 11-12) and
‘the scorching love and lust/that more usually madden mares’ (lines 13-14).
3 Compare this poem with poem 23 (Catullus XI) and poem 35 (Propertius II.5).
What similarities and differences are there?
4 Would you categorise this poem as a paraclausithuron? If so, why? If not, why
not?
Poem 44 (Horace, Odes I.33)
X loves Y, Y loves Z, Z loves…
1. Briefly summarise the poem.
2. What main point is Horace making in this poem? Do you agree with him? (Give
reasons.)
3. Do you agree with his criticism of Tibullus in lines 1-4? Explain your answer.
4. Ovid has also written a poem about Tibullus (poem 19; Ovid, Amores III.9).
Which of these two poems – poem 19 or poem 44 – do you prefer, and why?
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Poem 45 (Horace, Odes III.7)
Absence makes the heart grow fonder – but ‘out of sight out of mind’ may also be
true!
1. Briefly summarise the poem.
2. What and where are Bithynia (line 3) and Oricus (line 5)?
3. Explain the reference to the ‘Goat’s insensate stars’ (line 6).
4. Explain the mythological references to Bellerophon and Peleus (lines 15-19).
What point is Horace making by referring to these stories?
5. What were ‘Icarus’ cliffs’ (line 21) and why are they described as ‘deaf’?
6. Why does Horace refer to Enipeus riding on the Field of Mars and swimming in
the Tiber (lines 26-28)?
7. What do you think of Horace’s advice to Asterie in this poem?
Poem 46 (Horace, Odes III.9
A duet between Horace and Lydia.
1. Briefly summarise the poem.
2. Who was ‘Roman Ilia’ (line 8)?
3. How would you describe this poem? Is it an account of a real love affair, or is it
simply a clever and rather elegant poem?
Poem 47 (Horace, Odes III.10)
A poem from a rejected lover to a disdainful woman.
1. Briefly summarise the poem.
2. Explain ‘lest the rope fall back from the whirling wheel’ (line 11).
3. Explain the reference to Penelope (lines 11-12) and the Tuscan father.
4. Explain the reference to the ‘Pierian whore’ (line 15).
5. What features of paraclausithuron can you identify in this poem?
6. Practice Question (CSYS Paper I, 1993, question 2 (c)):
Compare poem 6 (Amores I.6) with poem 47 (Horace Odes III.10). What
similarities and differences are there between the two poems and which one
do you prefer? Give reasons for your choice.
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Poem 48 (Horace, Odes IV.13)
Lyce is old, ugly and drunk. The Lyce addressed in this poem may or may not be the
same woman as the Lyce addressed in poem 47. Presumably Horace loved Cinara
before he loved Lyce, but Cinara died young.
1. Briefly summarise this poem.
2. Explain in your own words what lines 9-10 mean.
3. What do you think Horace’s prayer in line 1 was?
4. Is this a love poem? If so, what makes it a love poem? If not, what is it?
C An overview of Horace’s Poetry
1. Practice Question (CSYS Paper I 1990, Question 4 (b):
‘Whereas Catullus and Propertius appear to write with deep emotion about their
mistresses, Ovid and Horace seem more concerned with the writing of love-poetry
than with love.’
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this view? You should
support your answer by referring to works of these four poets which you
have read.
(20)
D Some suggestions for revising Horace’s Love Poetry
1. List the main themes in Horace’s poetry.
2. List what you think are the main features of his style.
3. Look for points of similarity/difference between Horace and other writers.
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SECTION SIX: FINAL REVISION CHECKLIST
1. Make a list of all the main themes and conventions of Latin love poetry. Then for
each one, try to find at least one example in each of the poets you have studied. If
you can’t find an example in any particular poet’s work, try to think of a reason
why it isn’t there.
2. Make a list of all the mythological references in all the poets. Do any recur in the
work of two or more poets? If so, why? Which poet uses mythology the most,
and which least? Can you think of reasons for this?
3. Make a list of poems by one author which can be compared (for any reason) with
the poetry of one or more other authors. Don’t forget to note down the point of
comparison!
4. For each author, make a list of what you think are the main features of that
author’s style. Find at least one example of each.
5. For each author, list the points you like or dislike in his/her poetry. Also say
which poem(s) you liked best and least. Why do you like and dislike these
particular points and poems?
By the time you have done all of this you should know the poems so well that you
will be able to tackle anything an examiner can throw at you, and you’ll have all the
relevant examples at your finger tips (or at the very least be able to find them quickly
in the text).
And when it’s all over, remember what Horace said somewhere in the Odes:1
dulce est desipere in loco (It’s pleasant to relax at the proper time) !!
1
Horace, Odes, IV, xii.27
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APPENDIX 1: NOTES FROM G. LUCK, THE LATIN LOVE ELEGY
Chapter 1: Introduction
The earliest Greek elegies deal with a variety of themes, and use a variety of moods.
They don’t tell a story for the sake of telling a story, but are more concerned with
revealing the poet’s personality. In the post-classical period elegy is used for
mythological narratives, but still retain a personal, sometimes highly emotional tone.
Then in Augustan Rome, elegy was used for love poetry. Note that in Greece, the
characteristics of elegy developed slowly. In Rome, love elegy developed rapidly,
within a fairly close-knit group of contemporaries. Latin elegists were aware that
their chosen genre was not as grand or respectable as epic, but they always claimed to
be conscious craftsmen. The poetry of Virgil and Horace soon became schoolroom
classics, the subject of learned commentaries. But we have no ancient commentaries
on the elegiac poets.
In Roman society marriage was regarded as a practical means to an end, rather than a
happy end. It was a short-term association requiring only the free assent of the man
and the woman. Divorce was easy. Girls married young, and when they grew up they
were no longer free. In earlier times this was accepted, but by the first century BC
society had changed. Rome had a sizeable population of Greek courtesans, who were
much in demand by the young men, and therefore were probably much envied by the
women. By the late 1st century BC, many Roman women of good family were
leading increasingly independent lives, and both men and women were looking for
love outside marriage. The poets now use words like fides, pietas and castitas (which
had once been applicable only to married relations) to describe their association with
a mistress. (N.B. This only gives one side of the picture. The old ideas of marital
love and loyalty did not die out.)
Chapter 2: The origin of the elegy as a literary form
The origin of elegy is not certain. Ancient grammarians derived the word elegia from
the Greek e legein = to cry woe! woe! But the earliest elegies aren’t songs of
mourning but spirited, convivial songs. Possibly elegy was at first simply a song,
performed to the accompaniment of a flute (the Phrygian double-flute with its high,
thin sound). The Armenian word elegn means flute.
Elegy in Greece and Rome is identifiable by its rhythm rather than its mood. It was
written in elegiac couplets – hexameter and pentameter, each couplet often containing
a single thought. The pentameter contains an element of surprise; and is also
intensely personal. After the outreach of the hexameter, there is a feeling of
hesitancy, and a turning inward.
By the time of Catullus, elegy was already 500 years old, and had developed its own
set of metrical rules. Greek writers like Archilochus and Theognis, while writing in
personal tone, cover a variety of subjects. Mimnermus seems to have perfected the
form of elegy, but he wrote on historical and mythological themes, as well as on love.
(To Propertius, Mimnermus was the typical representative of erotic elegy).
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There is contradictory evidence on the question of whether the Alexandrian poets
wrote personal love poems in elegiac manner. Latin elegists claim to be the
successors of Callimachus and Philetas, but never specify precisely what they owed to
them. Their main debt is probably to Callimachus, a bold experimenter in poetic
genres, but not enough of his poetry survives for us to be able to confirm this.
Propertius seems to regard Callimachus as a model of style rather than a model of
erotic poetry; or as an example of the elegiac poet. Propertius never implies that
Callimachus loved a woman whose name was immortalised in his poetry. Ovid
includes Callimachus among erotic poets, but his reference in Amores II.4.19f to his
poems being comparable with those of Callimachus may refer to comparison in
technique, not content. The conclusion from this is that Callimachus certainly
influenced the Roman love-poets, but his influence is secondary to the freshness of
their own contribution.
Philetas is also praised by the Latin love-poets, but they may have known him more
by reputation than from knowledge of his poetry. We know from Callimachus that
Philetas wrote narrative poems in elegiac manner. We know from Ovid that Philetas
loved a woman called Bittis who may have been his wife. If they had read his poetry
they would have found in it a note of melancholy and sense of loss.
Hermesianax, a friend of Philetas, collected stories of women who had been loved by
famous poets and philosophers, and told them in elegiac metre. The typical situation
in his poems – the poet in love – is found in Propertius, Tibullus and Ovid, though the
Roman poets present it as a personal experience.
A characteristic of Alexandrian elegy is that it can be didactic and entertaining at the
same time, pathetic and amusing, objective and emotional, narrative and lyrical.
Boundaries between poetic genres disappear.
Phanocles wrote a series of elegies on the theme of love. He used the subject as a
starting point for telling obscure mythological tales.
Conclusions
1. There is no separation of objective from subjective poetry. This seems to apply
also in Roman elegy.
2. There is no one Greek original for any given poem by Propertius or Tibullus. The
Roman poets respected their Greek models, but used them in their own way.
Luck sees little appreciable influence from Menander, Plautus and Terence – at least
on Tibullus and Propertius. They would have read these comic poets, but they read
lots of other poets as well, who influenced them more. Moreover, the plots of
comedies invariably have a happy ending – unlike the elegiac poets!
Ovid show no interest in the various characters in comedy, and comments only in
Amores I.15.17-18 that such characters can still be seen in his own day.
Melodramatic monologues, meditations on the power of love, etc., are common both
in comedy and in elegy – but this is because they have a common ancestor in Greek
tragedy.
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Chapter 3: The early history of elegiac poetry in Rome
Ennius introduced the elegiac couplet into Roman literature, but didn’t use it for love
poetry. The first love elegiacs were written by aristocrats (c. 100 BC) and were very
much imitations of Greek originals, though with strong attempts at originality.
Propertius, in II.34B, lists Varro, Catullus, Calvus, Gallus and himself as erotic poets.
Practically all of their work is lost. Ovid has a similar list in Tristia 2.427ff (with
more names), but after eliminating unimportant ones his list is much the same as
Propertius’.
The most important of these poets is probably Gallus, but since none of his poems
survive, his place and influence cannot be certain. We know he was born 70/69 BC at
Forum Iulii in Gallia Narbonensis, served as an officer in the army and eventually
became first Prefect of Egypt. But he fell into disgrace after taking credit for some of
Augustus’ own achievements and committed suicide in 26 BC. He wrote four books
of love elegies (and other works) published as Amores and concerned with his love
affair with ‘Lycoris’ (i.e. a Greek freedwoman called Cytheris).
Virgil writes of Gallus’ love for Cytheris in Eclogues 10 which – according to
Servius’ comments on Eclogues 10 – is substantially derived from Gallus’ own
poetry. This would therefore mean that Gallus wrote of his love of the countryside
and his wish to spend his time there with ‘Lycoris’.
Quintilian, Inst. Or. 10.1.93, calls Gallus durior = rather harsh, but we don’t know
whether this applies to style or metre. What we do know is that he made great use of
mythology, although we don’t know if he wrote purely mythological elegies (like the
Alexandrians) or used the mythology (as Propertius did) to illustrate his love for
Lycoris. The former is marginally more likely. Probus (commentator on Virgil) says
that Gallus wrote in the manner of Euphorion.
Catullus is the first Latin love poet whose works are extant. Propertius, Tibullus and
Ovid were thoroughly familiar with Catullus’ poetry. But since he himself imitated
the Alexandrian poets, it’s possible that anything in these later poets that seems to be
‘imitating’ Catullus may in fact be imitating the Alexandrians, especially
Callimachus.
Propertius calls Catullus lascivus and says Lesbia is better known than Helen of Troy
because of Catullus’ poems (Propertius II.34.87f). Ovid (Tristia II.427ff) also calls
him lascivus and adds that Catullus has revealed other love affairs and admitted to
them. In Amores III.9.61f) Ovid imagines Catullus and Calvus in the underworld
coming to meet Tibullus. Quintilian omits Catullus from his list of elegiac poets in
Inst. Or. X.1.93 because he didn’t publish a full book of elegies.
The influence of Catullus can’t be underestimated. He admired and imitated the
Alexandrians, and this ensured that their influence was felt by the elegiac poets.
Like other ancient poets, Catullus made a deliberate choice of metre, depending on
what he was writing. He chose elegiac couplets when he needed the rhythm of the
pentameter to enhance his feelings or thought.
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We have three long elegiacs of Catullus (Catullus LXVI, LXVII, LXVIII), each a
different type of elegiac poem, and none an erotic elegy in the manner of Propertius,
Tibullus or Ovid.
Catullus LXVI – ‘The Lock of Berenice’: a learned, mythological poem unconnected
to Catullus’ own experience, and virtually a straight translation from Greek.
Catullus LXVII – a mixture of paraclausithuron and satire, with satire predominating.
The situation may be real, and there are unmistakable references to living persons, but
it’s not a love-poem in the ordinary sense of the word.
Catullus LXVIII – a complex blend of poetic epistle, mythological poem, love-elegy
and dirge. Catullus may have found a model for such a poem in Alexandrian poetry.
But it is more likely that Catullus, a naturally creative poet, has used elegiac couplet
to link some very heterogeneous thoughts and feelings into a long and consciously
artful poem. It is the prototype of Latin love elegy, and one of the finest poems in
Latin.
Catullus LXVIII may be an experimental poem, but it clearly deals with the poet’s
own experience. The legends of Troy and Laodamia are used as background to
significant moments in his own life (worship of Lesbia, his brother’s death). He uses
the myths in two ways:
1. to show his skill in bringing out the pictorial or sentimental elements of his theme
2 to use the resonances of the myths to express deep-seated realities.
The individual themes of the poem are linked with great care, using contrast and
correspondence for effect. His friendship for Allius, the loss of his brother, his
devotion to Lesbia (the happy and sad events of his life) acquire a new depth, through
their association with the legends of the Trojan War. The most important point about
these themes is that they all occur in the one poem, are given approximately the same
space, and are intricately woven.
The pattern of Catullus LXVIII never became popular among Catullus’ successors,
probably because of the technical difficulties involved, and also because the
emotional situation of Catullus was so individual that no other person could used the
pattern to fit their own situation.
It is Allius, rather than Catullus, who experiences the situation which later loveelegists would find typical (he writes in tears to Catullus, he feels near death, he’s
alone and sleepless in bed, poetry provides no comfort). But when Catullus turns to
his own situation, the idiom changes to a very individual one.
It’s not true, either, that Catullus’ treatment of myth was a model used by later loveelegists. His treatment of myth has a freshness and originality all its own. Both
themes and structure are unique to Catullus’ own situation. He seems to see the
present as a result of his own past. However, his own present and past blend into one
experience which is set against the background of the myth. In this way Catullus
unifies the themes of his poem, and doesn’t simply see myth as an external
decoration.
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Catullus referred to the shorter elegiac poems as ‘nugae’ (trifles). They are all
personal, and their shortness requires clarity, precision and polish. Again, his
successors found that they could not adopt Catullus’ method in any way. These are
reflective love poems.
The only true successor to Catullus is Sulpicia, since the Augustan elegists rejected
Catullus’ nugae in favour of more ambitious poems.
Catullus used the Alexandrian poets as models. They had written long, learned
elegies dealing with the loves of mythological characters as well as short epigrams
describing their own love affairs in a very light-hearted non-serious way. Catullus
experimented with both these forms, but he didn’t just imitate the Alexandrians.
When he wrote about himself, his friends and his lovers, he treated his friends and
lovers as real human beings. Roman love poetry began with Catullus because he took
love seriously. Lesbia is a Roman lady, not a Greek courtesan. Catullus also reversed
the relationship between man and woman which the Greek epigrammatists took for
granted. Lesbia was the dominant character; he was her slave, dependant on her
moods.
Chapter 4: The Art of Tibullus
Tibullus was born c.55 BC, and died in 19 BC. He was possibly older than
Propertius, but began publishing poetry after him. Neither poet mentions the other,
perhaps because they were totally different in personality. Tibullus was of equestrian
rank, and his family was well off. His references to paupertas are probably literary
convention – erotic poets had to be penniless!
A main theme in Tibullus is the need to live in the country, but as an eques he’d have
to serve several years in the army. He joined M. Valerius Messalla Corvinus,
statesman and literary patron, and shared his victory over the Aquitani, for which he
was awarded military honours. But he didn’t enjoy his military life.
In Messalla he had a generous patron and devoted friend, and often showed his
gratitude in his poetry. His poems also show him ill at ease in the army and in the
forum. He didn’t want a public career, and his ideal life was an Epicurean one. See
Horace Epistles, I.4, which describes Tibullus as young, good-looking, interested in
literature, and enjoying a civilised way if life. Horace, Odes, I.33 describes Tibullus
in love and writing elegiac laments because Glycera is unfaithful.
In his poems, Tibullus combines his love of the countryside and love of Delia. He’s
haunted by a sense of loss; neither country life nor love are secure possessions. Even
when on his farm, he longs for the golden age of Saturn.
Book I was probably edited by Tibullus himself, soon after 27 BC, and the poems are
deliberately arranged to make a sequence and provide regular variation in mood and
situation. The last elegy of Book I is one of his earliest poems. Many of its themes
also appear in I.1. I.1 contrasts war and peace; Tibullus is the poet in love, shut out
by his mistress. Poem I.2 develops this last theme. Poem I.5 shows that Tibullus now
realises the impossibility of a happy life with Delia, who now prefers a wealth rival.
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Book II is similar, but it’s shorter than Book I and some poems (especially II.5) seem
not to have been revised for publication. It may have been edited by someone else
after Tibullus’ death. His last love, Nemesis, appears in it. She typifies the cold,
selfish courtesan. Her relationship with her is short and violent, therefore more vivid
than that with Delia. There is a new note of realism in Book II. Poems 4 and 6
belong together, as they are about Nemesis. He wants her, but she rejects him and
prefers rich lovers. II.6 ends on a note of sadness and despair.
‘As a poet Tibullus stands halfway between Propertius and Virgil. With Propertius he
shares some typical erotic motifs; with Virgil he shares the feeling for nature and
country life. But his love-experience is not that of Propertius, and his bucolic themes
are not those of Virgil.’ (Luck, p. 69)
Like Virgil, Tibullus creates an ideal world, but he doesn’t populate it with artificial
characters ad Virgil did. Virgil is more robust than Tibullus, and his Eclogues have
more dramatic and narrative elements than Tibullus’ poetry. In I.10 Tibullus is
haunted by the fear of being separated from these idyllic surroundings. His
preference for country life also gives him an affinity with the old Roman religion and
its traditional feasts and celebrations. This makes him different from Ovid and
Propertius.
To Quintilian, Tibullus seems to have been preferred to Propertius as a love-elegist:
‘tersus atque elegans maxime...auctor’. Ovid, Amores, I.15.27f referred to ‘culte
Tibulle’. This description sums up Tibullus’ art – ‘It is unostentatious and subtle; it
avoids emphasis, the striking phrase, Propertius’ kind of realism, Ovid’s kind of
brilliance. But it is art nonetheless, one that aims at vividness without effect, at the
phrase that is not startling but haunts the mind.’ (Luck, p. 71)
Tibullus’ style is less exuberant than Propertius’. This characteristic is achieved by
conscious restraint. Horace saw in it something like his own style. He avoids
colloquialisms and adjectives/adverbs with a conversational ring. He ignores much
standard erotic terminology. His imagery is economical – he prefers sober similes
and avoids what is grandiose. Compared with Tibullus, Propertius is more intense
and decorative. Tibullus has a more difficult task in moving the reader by
understatement.
Luck quotes W.Y. Sellar, Horace and the Elegiac Poets – ‘The sense of each distich
is complete in itself...the clauses are direct and simple...and follow each other without
any connecting word, or with a conjunction co-ordinating them with one another, or
more rarely marking the dependence of one thought on another...There is an equable
balance between the first and second half of the pentameter...To a modern ear the
movement of the verse is smoother than that of the Ovidian elegiac with its rapid
succession of epigrammatic antithesis: while it never leaves the impression of strain
and labour, as if the single lines and couplets were beat out by separate efforts, which
is often left by the metre of Propertius.’ (Luck, p. 74)
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Chapter 5: Alexandrian themes in Tibullus
Tibullus never mentions any Greek (or Roman) poet, but this doesn’t mean he knows
nothing of them. To be a poeta doctus implied thorough knowledge of Greek
literature and mythology. Tibullus makes very sparing use of mythology or literary
references.
[Luck proceeds to illustrate allusions and debts to the Alexandrians with special
reference to Tibullus I.4 and I.7.]
Chapter 6: Minor talents
[This chapter describes the poetry of Sulpicia and Lygdamus.]
Chapter 7: The poet from Umbria
In Ovid’s list (Tristia, IV.10.51ff) Propertius comes after Tibullus, but for all practical
purposes Propertius and Tibullus were contemporaries and rivals, each with his own
circle of friends. Being younger than both, Ovid can afford to be impartial and give
each his fair share of recognition.
Most of what we know about Propertius comes from his own poems. Born in
Umbria, near Perugia. Home town probably Assisi. Father died when Propertius was
a boy. Family of equestrian rank; he was expected to become a lawyer or politician,
but became a poet instead. Maecenas became his patron after the success of his first
book of poetry. He met Virgil, moved into a house on the Esquiline Hill. Close
relations with imperial household. His first poems were love-poems. His affair with
‘Cynthia’ (real name ‘Hostia’) made his reputation as a poet. Cynthia was a Roman
lady, to whom at the start he was wholly devoted, but in later books he takes an
interest in themes other than love.
Unlike Tibullus, Propertius is a poet of the city. Unlike Catullus, who wrote poems of
real love, Propertius wrote poems about love. This is particularly evident in
Propertius Book I.
Propertius’ poems are difficult because the progression of thought in the poems is
often abrupt. He cuts out details; makes forced transitions; uses extravagant imagery.
This may be because he wants to use flamboyant phrases and elaborate lines in the
Alexandrian manner, but isn’t quite as able to do this as Callimachus was.
‘Propertius’ choice of words and images is so daring that his context is often
almost unintelligible. He tries to say too much at the same time; he heaps
allusion upon allusion and suddenly, involved in the difficulties he has
created for himself, simply changes the subject.’
(Luck, p. 113)
This obscurity is probably often his own doing, but may also be caused by a corrupt
text which may also be full of interpolations.
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His difficulty and obscurity is probably deliberate. Propertius wants to keep the
reader guessing, or to strike him by an unexpected turn of phrase. Most of the time he
moves on two levels, that of reality and that of imagination. As soon as he has
outlined a real situation (e.g. the description of Cynthia asleep in I.3), he switches into
mythological exempla and back to reality again with hardly any warning.
But his use of mythology is never merely decorative; it always connects directly and
vividly with his subject; e.g. in I.3, Cynthia is compared to Ariadne, then Andromeda,
then a sleeping Bacchante. Each comparison adds something different. Ariadne
symbolises Cynthia’s loneliness, Andromeda peaceful sleep after much worrying, the
Bacchante suggests Cynthia’s potential for sudden outbreaks of temper.
Tibullus and Propertius didn’t appeal to the same reader. They differed just as
Terence and Plautus did. Terence and Tibullus were influenced by aristocratic
patrons. Propertius’ style was already formed when he met Maecenas.
Tibullus and Propertius both deal with love, despair, friendship, regret. But while
Tibullus moves in an idealised landscape, Propertius is the poet of the city.
Tibullus reveals more indirectly about his personality than Propertius, since he seems
to think or dream aloud. Propertius likes to declaim. So we know Tibullus better than
Delia, but Cynthia better than Propertius.
Tibullus has a limited range of themes, and likes best to create a specific mood.
Propertius prefers to find some kind of narrative structure, and presents a series of
highly coloured dramatic incidents. Ovid learned this technique from Propertius.
Both Ovid and Propertius have an interest in works of art which Tibullus doesn’t
share. There were plenty of examples of imported Greek works of art all around
them, although at times Propertius may have got his story from a book rather than
from a painting.
It is strange that Propertius, who is so interested in the life around him, is also haunted
by visions of death. But unlike Tibullus he doesn’t lapse into self-pity when thinking
of his own death. He wants to get the most out of life before death comes.
The idea of the lover as his mistress’s slave is frequent in Roman elegy but rare in
Greek. Catullus used it; and Propertius goes further by extending it beyond the grave
(I.19.11f).
Propertius was more of a compulsive experimenter than other Latin poets. Each poem
is a new experiment in complexity. He takes delight in the exotic, the mysterious; he
paints in brilliant colour, and loves the grandiose gesture; he uses mythology to add a
new dimension to his experience, not to achieve a mere decorative effect.
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Chapter 8: Sacra Facit Vates
Propertius was the only Latin elegiac poet to make a serious attempt at discussing the
nature and principles of his art. He constantly explores the nature of elegy and his
own reasons for writing it. He had known success as a young man, but he was never
quite satisfied with this early recognition, and constantly subjected his poetic talents
to close scrutiny.
To reach an understanding of the nature of poetic creation, Propertius constantly
resorts to imagery and symbolism.
Dance is a common image for poetic inspiration in Propertius, because of its perfect
co-ordination of music, movement and gesture. Another favourite of Propertius is the
race, because it’s swift and powerful.
‘A poem on the nature of inspiration needs a host of images. Each image
holds within it the seed of its own destruction. Propertius’ method consists
in a constant building up and breaking down of images.’
Luck, p. 129
Propertius is proud of what he has achieved, but a little embarrassed by the limitations
of his talent, compared with the talent of other members of Maecenas’ circle. Both
Virgil and Horace were at home in various provinces of literature. Ovid, a friend of
his, although not a member of Maecenas’ circle, made his debut as a writer of loveelegies, but showed both promise and inclination for epic and tragedy.
Knowing these limitations, Propertius often seems to worry about how his readers
will respond. His first book had made him successful, but although he claims that
he’s writing for eternity he still seems to need the certainty of contemporary
recognition. He seems to ask, ‘Who reads my poetry, and why?’
He writes for Cynthia. Sometimes he seems to have a solitary reader in mind. At
other times he looks to a large audience and many imitators. He’s also aware that he
may have critics, who regard his poetry as not sufficiently moral or useful.
Propertius’ answer to these critics seems to be that his poetry is therapeutic and
helpful to the lover.
‘Propertius’ work is profound in feeling and the result of great technical
virtuosity. He has pushed language to extraordinary limits and charged it
with meaning to the utmost degree. Most of his elegies show an abrupt
method of progression, in which explanatory aids are lacking. He is a
difficult poet, more difficult, I think, than Horace and Virgil; but he is not
obscure on purpose, in order to mystify the reader. His obscurity is
intimately connected with his sincerity and he has tried more than the other
elegists to define the power of poetry and the role of the poet in life.’
Luck, p. 140
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Chapter 9: Augustan Rococo
Ovid was born 20th March 43 BC. He grew up in the pax Augusta, therefore he has
no memories of the Fall of the Republic and the Civil War, unlike Horace, Virgil and
Propertius.
Like other elegiac poets he has little interest in politics and business, but unlike
Tibullus and Propertius he very rarely feels the need to justify his lack of interest.
He’s well aware that he lives in one of the great periods of Roman history, but has no
wish to take part in public life himself. He loves Rome, and it’s Rome rather than
Corinna that is the real protagonist of the Amores. It appears as the background to his
erotic adventures, taking the place of Tibullus’ idyllic landscapes and Propertius’
mythological fantasies.
Ovid came to Rome aged about 14 to study rhetoric. He was an excellent student and
a fine debater (as the elder Seneca remembers), but he soon tired of artificial
rhetorical exercises. He visited Athens, Asia Minor and Sicily when a young man.
Then, obeying his father, he embarked on a public career. But he really preferred to
write and live at ease. Soon after coming to Rome he had come under the patronage
of Messalla Corvinus who was already patron of Tibullus.
His earliest poetry was love-elegy, but then he diversified into tragedy (Medea),
imaginary love-letters (Heroides), didactic poetry (Ars Amatoria, Remedia Amoris,
Medicamina Faciei), a poetic calendar (Fasti), and a set of fairy stories
(Metamorphoses). It is Ovid, not Propertius, who deserves the title of ‘Callimachus
Romanus’, because of his amazing verbal dexterity, combined with learning and
humour.
Exile, because of a book (Ars Amatoria) and an offence, hit him like a bolt from the
blue. He kept his citizenship and his fortune, but was never allowed to return from
Tomis to Rome. The Tristia and Ep. ex Pont. tell us how he felt buried alive in exile.
He died in AD 17. Ovid is the last great poet of the Augustan Age. More than his
other works, the Amores represent the Augustan culture, with its superb cultivation of
technique for its own sake, and its exquisite sensuousness.
‘Reading Ovid, one sometimes wonders whether he was frivolous by choice
or through disillusionment, or perhaps, disillusioned through frivolity. But
there is not the slightest doubt that he was a great artist. We find in him a
wastefulness of talent, a sense of generous overflowing of wit and
imagination. There is so much talent that it can dare to squander itself even
on nonsense, on luxuriant affectations, on all kinds of egomanias and
capricious obsessions. Ovid’s art, the art of the sentimental or grandiose or
ironic gesture, is unique in ancient literature.’
Luck, p. 145
The Amores, in its first edition, was in five books published separately. We have
Ovid’s revised second edition in three books, published as a whole. He began writing
them at age 18, when Horace, Virgil, Tibullus and Propertius were still alive. He
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became instantly famous. People wanted to know who Corinna was – but Corinna
was a composite of the various women Ovid had known. Very few of the elegies
seem to reflect a real experience.
When Ovid began writing love-elegy the challenge facing him was to find something
new to say. What he did was refuse to take life seriously. He has read a great amount
of Greek poetry, and makes full use of the technique, imagery and material of
Alexandrian poetry. He has also read his Latin predecessors and takes advantage of
what they have done. But although he concentrates on technique, he is constantly
seeking to bring something new to the established form of love-elegy. He abandons
some of the experiments of Catullus and Propertius, because he has the courage to try
something new.
There’s no hint of a narrative pattern in the Amores. Book I shows the beginning of
the affair, and Book II shows the affair when Ovid is sure of Corinna’s love and
beginning to look for new conquests; but Book III contains poems that might have
been written at any time during the affair, and consists of poems of complaint and
dissatisfaction.
Another principle of arrangement is variatio – similar poems often separated from one
another and sometimes put in different books; similar themes are treated in different
ways. Sometimes two successive poems have the same theme. Thus each poem can
be enjoyed on its own, but it also derives a special effect from its place in the
collection. There’s also variety of literary form – elaborate rhetoric, funeral elegy
(both mock and serious), propempticon, paraclausithuron, mythological and narrative
poems.
The structure of an Ovidian elegy is clear and simple, usually dealing with just one
topic. The propositio is stated at the beginning, then developed methodically. Often
the poem ends with an epigram. He’s interested in the typical rather than the
individual aspects of each experience. And he’s able to write with detachment. He’s
too rational and too self-disciplined to write with the fervent intensity of Catullus and
Propertius.
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APPENDIX 2: VARIANT READINGS FOR OVID, AMORES I
The following list contains all the differences between the Latin text in the SQA
booklet and the Latin text in Barsby’s edition. The majority are differences in
punctuation, which will not in fact make any difference to the meaning of the text.
Barsby uses ‘u’ for ‘v’, but no account has been taken of this difference.
line no.
SQA text
Barsby’s text
Poem 1 (Amores I.1)
3
14
25
versus;
affectas
sagittas.
versus:
adfectas
sagittas:
Poem 2 (Amores I.2)
12
14
21
34
35
40
43
44
mori.
boves
pacem veniamque
vulgus
assidue
appositas
tum
tum
mori;
boves;
veniam pacemque
volgus
adsidue
adpositas
tunc
tunc
Poem 3 (Amores I.3)
1
2
3
10
est,
faciat,
amari,
parens,
est
faciat
amari;
parens:
domus,
posce
voles.
cibos.
domus
posce,
voles:
cibos;
apposui
Semiramis
tegi,
cumque
adposui
Sameramis
tegi;
quae, cum
Poem 4 (Amores I.4)
9
20
34
Poem 5 (Amores I.5)
2
11
14
15
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54
SQA text
Barsby’s text
pondere
amor;
volantes,
manus:
uni;
immitia
esse
impulsa
fores.
corpore
amor:
volantis,
manus;
uni:
inmitia
esse,
inpulsa
foris.
Poem 9 (Amores I.9)
14
22
24
35
38
43
aptave
manu.
equi.
complexibus
comis.
impulit
aptaque
manu;
equi:
conplexibus
comis;
inpulit
Poem 10 (Amores I.11)
24
‘veni.’
‘veni’.
Poem 11 (Amores I.12)
16
20
30
manus.
vulturis
immundo
manus;
volturis
inmundo
Poem 13 (Amores I.14)
4
9
14
21
25
42
48
51
55
imum qua patet
nec erat
erant.
neglecta
praebuerunt
comas.
probor.
miserum! lacrimas
est;
imum, qua patet,
neque erat
erant:
neclecta
praebuerant
comas:
probor:
miserum, lacrumas
est:
line no.
Poem 6 (Amores I.6)
6
13
14
15
17
23
51
54
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55
Poem 14 (Amores I.15)
12
14
16
18
20
24
26
29
40
Ceres.
valet.
erit.
erit.
habent.
dies.
erit.
tui.
honos.
Latin: Ovid and Latin Love Poetry – Latin Interpretation (AH)
Ceres;
valet;
erit;
erit;
habent;
dies;
erit;
tui;
honos:
56