tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84947645964464116272011-07-07T22:01:51.607-05:00Comments and conversation about the Poems (Carmina) of the Roman poet, Catullus. This is a blog space for students of Catullus to join in a conversation with their Latin teacher regarding their current work on Catullus' poems. For safety's sake I ask that students not post using their full names.Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.comBlogger221100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-33220286066973669682007-11-09T19:52:00.000-05:002007-11-16T05:43:25.134-05:00

When did Catullus write carmen 64? This is an epyllion, a little epic. This neoteric poet has written a traditional Roman epic poem, sort of. It's about the marriage of an heroic couple whose bedspread has the scenes of Theseus and Ariadne on it. The bulk of the poem is about that scene within the scene, and that scene is about the heartbreak of love betrayed.We have also seen the words and

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-91243823846322043832007-11-09T19:37:00.000-05:002007-11-09T19:50:40.255-05:00

Discipuli, videte lamentum Ariadnae in versibus 132-197 carminis Catulli 64. Demonstrate exempla pro his quaestionibus.1) Quid Ariadna de viris putat?2) Quid Ariadna de se dixit?3) Quae quaestiones Ariadna habet?Respondete, quippe, tantum Latine.

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-73463839093498808282007-09-27T19:48:00.000-05:002007-09-27T19:55:01.361-05:00

Catullus uses the writing of others in poems 14a, 35, 36, 44, 50 and 1 to address a variety of issues. What are these poems "De Carminibus" really about? Are they about poetry? If so, make the case. If not, make a case for something else. As always, state you evidence from the Latin text, translate it (yourself--do not use someone else's English version) and then analyze the text toward your

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-25459774864914864702007-09-07T06:26:00.000-05:002007-09-07T06:30:09.131-05:00

We have just read several Catullan poems grouped under the theme: Amici et Inimici. Citing your evidence in Latin, translating and then analyzing, cite three examples of images that Catullus uses to describe "the human condition" within the realm of friends and enemies. In other words, in these poems that spin off of his friendly and unfriendly relationships, what images of the human condition

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-89571524270175311432007-08-23T10:28:00.000-05:002007-09-07T06:29:46.048-05:00

Here we are with our first blog post of the new school year. I am starting the numbering over with Week 1--Fall 2007 so that we can more easily keep up with our weeks.Recently on National Public Radio's "This I Believe" series, Canada's first poet laureate, George Bowering, made this comment:"Sometimes when you are listening to a great jazz musician performing a long solo, you are experiencing

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-21099724396385458652007-05-11T13:46:00.000-05:002007-05-11T13:57:50.012-05:00

We have spent the last 18 weeks reading and reflecting on the carmina of Catullus. We have viewed them under some general headings:Catullus Lesbiam amat.Catullusne Lesbiam amat?Amor et AmicitiaDe Vita SuaGo back over these poems. Select a line from one poem that strikes you in a particular way. Quote the line, and then explain to us in a few poignant words what this means to you and why it

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-19122461124291764412007-05-04T08:43:00.000-05:002007-05-04T08:46:44.808-05:00

We've spent a good deal of time this week reading Carmen 65, which addresses the death of Catullus' brother, and the great sorrow he experiences as a result of it. In good AP writing style address how Catullus models his message in this poem. Specifically comment on how the poem begins, the transition that takes place in the middle, and his ending. He models his message in a couple of ways.

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-1991676855368850962007-04-29T18:55:00.000-05:002007-04-29T18:57:04.078-05:00

The BBC has put out an interesting show on classical love poetry. Because of the nature of this blog, I am extending the deadline until Wednesday at 10:30 PM because it requires listening to this internet broadcast. Go here and listen:http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime.shtmlThen, respond with THREE connections you can make from this broadcast to Catullus' poetry.

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-76865311775323917002007-04-22T11:49:00.000-05:002007-04-22T11:53:17.438-05:00

Carmen 31, in which Catullus addresses his home place, Sirmio, is among those that we have labelled "De Vita Sua", About His Life. Writing about one's home-place might seem very easy to some people, but to an increasing number of people, that might seem difficult if not absurd. Fewer and fewer people in our modern age actually grow up in one place, much less on a family estate that has been

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-19348335541586385362007-04-13T13:37:00.000-05:002007-04-13T13:41:21.246-05:00

This week we have read Carmen 4 in which Catullus reports to his "hospites" what his little ship, his "phasellus", has said.Immediately, we know that this is more than meets the eye. Ships don't report anything. But, when poets have ships that are talking, the poets are trying to tell us something. In your blog post, describe at least three different things that Catullus is telling us about

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-81016398771475720912007-03-22T20:52:00.000-05:002007-03-22T21:03:53.106-05:00

I heard recently a radio interview with Krista Tippet who does a weekly show in NPR called "Speaking of Faith". She was asked by the interviewer if religion came from the same place within the human being as art--and that would include poetry. She had this to say: Poetry says more than what words contain.Examine Carmen 96 in which Catullus treats the issue of death, love, grief and joy. Do

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-75865855196198109962007-03-16T14:50:00.000-05:002007-03-16T14:56:36.507-05:00

In Catullus 45, we examine the love relationship between Acme and Septimius. It's a bit ironic, perhaps, after walking through the Catullus and Lesbia poems, that we then take up this poem about what seems to be an ideal love relationship. So, my question to you is about irony. Can you find evidence of irony in Catullus 45, or is this just a very straightforward poem about the ideal love

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-57367756760265645052007-03-09T07:38:00.000-05:002007-03-09T07:42:11.488-05:00

In Carmen 11, Catullus takes the reader on a catalogued tour of regions around Rome. For us, they are mostly strange, unknown places, and we need the help of commentators to begin to make sense of them. And then, suddenly, two-thirds of the way through the poem, Catullus has a message for his "girl", Lesbia. It's not a pretty message. The relationship is clearly over. Latin scholars admit

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-78795377843212166032007-02-23T12:52:00.000-05:002007-02-23T12:58:04.737-05:00

We will keep this topic open for two weeks. I ask that you each attempt to respond to my question below, AND, in the second week, that you make a response to one other student's post. You will receive two different grades, based on your own response, and on your response to another student. By doing this, we are extending our conversation with each other about Catullus' works beyond the

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com82tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-61838681739903118542007-02-16T14:29:00.000-05:002007-02-16T14:34:39.430-05:00

We had very rich, thoughtful discussion today about our recent set of poems: 3, 70, 8, 87 and 60. Thanks to all of you for making that happen.One thing we can probably not look at enough is how it is that Catullus does what he does. In other words, how does he use Latin language to create certain effects, and how do those effects affect us when we read the Latin.Choose one of the following and

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-13571039466054136582007-02-10T18:45:00.000-05:002007-02-09T14:22:17.513-05:00

Imagine Lesbia responding to Catullus' Carmen 70. And then, write a 4 line Latin poem as Lesbia's response to him and to that particular poem. Follow these guidelines.1) Yes, in Latin.2) 4 lines3) Each line has 11 syllables (aiming for Hendecasyllable, but I am not requiring that your 11 syllable line conform entirely to the meter. If you can get the first three syllables to be long, that

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com61tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-42247986170774825542007-02-02T10:22:00.000-05:002007-02-02T10:26:28.310-05:00

We have now read two poems (carmina 2 and 3) where the Lesbia's sparrow is the focus. Compare and contrast these two poems. Take the sparrow at face value, and explain how Catullus uses the sparrow to do what he is doing in each poem. What is he doing in these two poems? Is he doing the same thing, or something different in each? Quote from the Latin text and justify your views. This need

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-24381976248057676362007-01-26T11:16:00.001-05:002007-01-26T11:21:32.687-05:00

If you read enough of an author, you begin to notice subtle or not so subtle patterns in his/her writing. Those patterns might be thing like the clear, short, straightforward sentences of a Hemingway, or lengthy, complex sentences describing scenes in great detail like Mellville. The same is true for Latin authors and Latin poets in particular. We can notice patterns in meter, and we can notice

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-28153480935218893182007-01-19T14:31:00.000-05:002007-01-19T14:46:13.319-05:00

Catullus noster scripsit Quintiam esse formosam, sed nullam venustatem habere (Carmen 86). Secundum Catullum in carminibus nostris (51, 5, 7, 86) quid est forma? Quid est venustas? Explica duobus vel tribus exemplis ex carminibus differentiam inter formam et venustatem. Quomodo Lesbia exemplum venustatis est?Magister Patricius

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-8123045178597936862007-01-12T10:08:00.000-05:002007-01-12T10:13:13.358-05:00

This week we have read Carmen 51 and Carmen 5. We have listened to Catullus' description of what simply looking at his lady does to him, and we have heard him describe human life as a brief light that, when it sets, must sleep the sleep that must be slept. And then he calls for all those kisses!Consider this poem written in English by Mary Oliver (which, magically, I just received from a friend

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-72481483205706549092007-01-04T19:29:00.000-05:002007-01-04T19:38:22.509-05:00

Daniel Garrison states in his commentary on the meter of Catullus that "without sound, poetry ceases to exist". He says earlier that "poetry is rhythmic sound married to meaning", making it clear that poetry is this mysterious melding of words, and not just any words--but meaningful words--and rhythm. Rhythm requires sound. So, what does this say to a culture where we largely do our reading in

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8494764596446411627.post-34157003472127816402006-12-23T17:24:00.001-05:002006-12-25T08:01:56.884-05:00

This blog is going to be our collective journal as we work on, work with, read, recite and ruminate on the poems of Catullus. Here are some basic rules for how we will do this:1) I will post a comment or reflection each Friday about something we've done that week. This might be on a single poem, or on a theme in several poems. It might be on the message of the poem, on words that Catullus has

Bob Patrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08291436751199050107noreply@blogger.com0