Catullus 8 Analysis

In Catullus’ poems 2, 3, 5, 7, and 8, Catullus describes his torrid affair with Lesbia. Lesbia is typically identified as Clodia, a married woman with a documented history of scandals and affairs. Catullus is deeply infatuated with Lesbia in his early poems, expressing jealousy of her pet bird and attempting to hold Lesbia’s attention. In Catullus 8, Catullus has a dramatic change of heart. He begins speaking in third person, giving himself advice just as much as he critiques Lesbia. Though his tone and attitude towards Lesbia shifts completely from one of loving adoration to resentful disdain, Catullus 8 fits logically with Catullus 2, 3, 5, and 7. Catullus maintains his emotional intensity throughout the poems, using not only his words but

also meter to emphasize them. Considering the many aspects of Catullus’ work combined, Catullus’ poems 2, 3, 5, 7, and 8 all fit together well to tell a story of his personal feelings.
In poems 2 and 3, Catullus discusses Lesbia and her pet sparrow. Catullus lovingly refers to Lesbia in these poems, calling her “dēsīderiō meō nitentī” (“radiant object of [his] desire) and “meae puellae” (“[his] sweetheart”) (Catullus 2: 5, 1). So deep is Catullus’ infatuation that he spends the entirety of Catullus 2 expressing his jealousy for her pet bird, whom Catullus can see she cares for more than she cares for most things, including him. When describing Lesbia's relationship with her bird after the bird had died, Catullus conveyed the depth of their bond: "Dēliciae meae puellae, / Quem plūs illa oculīs suīs amābat" ("Pet of my sweetheart, / whom she loved more than her own eyes") (Catullus 3: 4-5). While his later words lament the death of the sparrow, cursing the darkness and exclaiming "Ō miselle passer!" ("O poor little sparrow!"), Catullus' overall tone remains unchanged from Catullus 2 (Catullus 3: 16). Catullus 2, an upbeat poem about the loving relationship between a girl and her bird which Catullus envied, is written in hendecasyllabic meter just like Catullus 3, a poem about death and sorrow. The continuity created by the meter despite the differing topics suggests Catullus' true interests lie with Lesbia; he is apathetic about the death of the bird, but deeply interested in his newfound ability to gain Lesbia's affections now that her focus is no longer centered on her pet.
Poems 5 and 7 detail Catullus' passionate pursuit of Lesbia. As he encourages her to disregard the gossip surrounding their affair, Catullus presents an exaggerated and emotional argument: "Dā mī bāsia mīlle, deinde centum, / dein mīlle altera, dein secunda centum, / deinde usque altera mīlle, deinde centum" ("Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred, / then another thousand, then a second hundred, / then immediately another thousand, then a hundred") (Catullus 5: 7-9). Catullus chooses not to ask for one large sum of kisses, but to ask for many individual hundreds and thousands. His wording conveys to the reader Catullus' desire to have an ongoing relationship with Lesbia, one that involves emotions and a plethora of kisses over time and not just one isolated interaction. In Catullus 7, Catullus articulates a similar desire but with romantic language rather than numbers. He writes: "Quam magnus numerus Libyssae harēnae / ... / tam tē bāsia multa bāsiāre / vēsānō satis et super Catullō est" ("As great as the number of Libyan sands / ... / for you to kiss so many kisses / are enough and more than enough for crazy Catullus") (Catullus 7: 3, 9-10). Catullus not only calls himself crazy ("vēsānō"), but also demonstrates his crazed state by comparing the number of kisses he wants to the uncountable number of sands in the deserts of Libya. Catullus' repeated overstatements show the intensity of his emotions for Lesbia. Furthermore, his continued use of hendecasyllabic meter connects all four poems (Catullus 2, 3, 5, and 7) concerning Lesbia through the use of a light and bouncy rhythm.
In poem 8, Catullus is no longer the hopeful man who was once hopelessly in love with Lesbia.

It appears as though Lesbia has finally rejected Catullus, and Catullus is struggling to move on from his obsession. He switches from the upbeat hendecasyllabic meter to choliambic meter, often nicknamed "limping iambics" because of its slowed pace, in Catullus 8. Though a change in meter initially appears to disconnect Catullus 8 from the other poems, it in face draws them together by illustrating to the reader the continuous strength of Catullus' emotions (both joyful and distressed) throughout his narrative. While before Catullus had said the suns shone bright for him as he followed Lesbia, he now refers to their relationship as dead and lost: "Miser Catulle... / ...quod vidēs persīsse perditum dūcās" ("Wretched Catullus... / ...consider that thing you see as dead to have been lost") (Catullus 8: 1-2). He uses the alliteration of "perīsse perditum" to further emphasize the ideas of death and loss. His emotions now are just as passionate before, but instead of being upbeat and loving, they are sorrowful and unhappy as Catullus demonstrates with both his word choice and meter. Catullus ends his eighth poem by insulting Lesbia, whom he had showered with compliments and adoration previously. Bitterly Catullus writes, "Scelesta, vae tē! Quae tibī manet vīta? / Quis nunc tē adībit? Cui vidēberis bella?" ("Wicked one, woe to you! What life awaits you? / Who will approach you now? To whom will you seem pretty?") (Catullus 8: 15-16). His admonishments represent a complete shift from his attempts to woo her in earlier poems, though his dedication to disliking Lesbia now is as rigid as his insistence on loving her

before.
Catullus 8 appears to be an entirely separate poem from Catullus 2, 3, 5, and 7. Catullus uses a different meter, and portrays Lesbia in completely different lights. While in Catullus 2, 3, 5, and 7 Lesbia is the sincere object of Catullus' affections, she is the object of his hatred and disdain in Catullus 8. However, the differences in tone, emotion, and meter between the poems are actually the elements which unify them all in the context of Catullus' and Lesbia's story. Lesbia was, based on her typical historical identification, a married woman whose affair with Catullus would have been unstable at best. She is somewhat hesitant to accept his initial advances, and it comes as no surprise that the relationship ends badly for Catullus who desires more than Lesbia is willing to give. Additionally, Catullus has strong feelings in all of the poems. Sometimes they are lighthearted and sometimes they miserable, but they are always intense. While the poems appear disjointed, they are unified by the complete story and Catullus' emotional nature.