The Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus (84 – 54/52 BC?) is the most famous of the Neoteric poets who wrote at the end of the Roman Republic. Imitating the Alexandrian poets of the 3rd C. BC, these “new-style” poets wrote generally wrote short, witty poems filled with irony and sarcasm. The many of the most famous of Catullus’ poems center around his love affair with the married Clodia, sister of Clodius Pulcher (think: Bona Dea scandal), whom he called Lesbia (after the 7th C. BC poetess Sappho, born on the island Lesbos).
In this unit, students will read 7 of Catullus’ most famous poems (all of Catullus’ poems are known by number; neither they nor his book of poems have a proper title). Links below go to required vocabulary study lists and other helpful materials.
Part II: Poems 13, 49, 51, and 85