Catullus 51
Encyclopedia
Catullus 51 is a poem by the Roman
famous love poet Gaius Valerius Catullus (c. 84 – c. 54 BC). It is an adaptation of one of Sappho
's fragmentary lyric poems, Sappho 31
. Catullus replaces Sappho's beloved with his own beloved Lesbia
. Unlike the majority of Catullus' poems, the meter
of this poem is the sapphic meter. This meter is more musical, seeing as Sappho mainly sang her poetry.
N.B. – Catullus is not the only poet who translated Sappho
’s poem to use for himself: Pierre de Ronsard
is also known to have translated a version of it.
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
famous love poet Gaius Valerius Catullus (c. 84 – c. 54 BC). It is an adaptation of one of Sappho
Sappho
Sappho was an Ancient Greek poet, born on the island of Lesbos. Later Greeks included her in the list of nine lyric poets. Her birth was sometime between 630 and 612 BC, and it is said that she died around 570 BC, but little is known for certain about her life...
's fragmentary lyric poems, Sappho 31
Sappho 31
Sappho 31 is a poem by Ancient Greek poet Sappho of Lesbos. It is also known as phainetai moi after the opening words of its first line, or Lobel-Page 31, Voigt 31, Gallavotti 2, Diehl 2, Bergk 2, after the location of the poem in various editions containing the collected works of Sappho...
. Catullus replaces Sappho's beloved with his own beloved Lesbia
Lesbia
Lesbia was the literary pseudonym of the great love of Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus .She was a poet in her own right, included with Catullus in a list of famous poets whose lovers "often" helped them write their verses....
. Unlike the majority of Catullus' poems, the meter
Meter (poetry)
In poetry, metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set of metres alternating in a particular order. The study of metres and forms of versification is known as prosody...
of this poem is the sapphic meter. This meter is more musical, seeing as Sappho mainly sang her poetry.
N.B. – Catullus is not the only poet who translated Sappho
Sappho
Sappho was an Ancient Greek poet, born on the island of Lesbos. Later Greeks included her in the list of nine lyric poets. Her birth was sometime between 630 and 612 BC, and it is said that she died around 570 BC, but little is known for certain about her life...
’s poem to use for himself: Pierre de Ronsard
Pierre de Ronsard
Pierre de Ronsard was a French poet and "prince of poets" .-Early life:...
is also known to have translated a version of it.
The Latin
The following Latin text is taken from D. F. S. Thomson.| Line | The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
|
|---|