Catullus And Sappho Comparison

Test 1: Sappho and Catullus

1. From the beginning time love has always been a complicated subject matter full of competition. Usually, when the words “love” and “competition” are used together, they are automatically associated with love triangles. While this is true, there is more to love than person vs person conflict. There is also: person vs self (ex. emotions), person vs external factors (ex. social stigma), person vs lover, etc. All of these conflicts are highlighted in the writings of Greek, female author name Sappho.

Sappho longs for love; in her first poem, “Deathless Aphrodite of the spangled mind” Sappho begs Aphrodite for a lover; however, she is scared that Aphrodite will leave her in heartbreak (Sappho 596). In lines 15 and

16, Sappho repeats the phrase “now again”; this makes it seem like she has made requests to Aphrodite before; in the end, Aphrodite assure Sappho that she will find someone who returns her affection. However, Sappho’s hesitancy leads me to believe that she is convinced that the Gods have complete control over human lives; thus, the competition for love occurs between humans and the Gods.
Moreover, I think Sappho believes that love is one of the most powerful forces.

For example, in poem 16, “Some men say an army of horse", Sappho seems to be inspired by Lady Helen’s decision to leave her husband for Paris of Troy despite what those around her believed (Sappho 597). In this situation, there was a competition between Helen and the social stigma of people being angered by her degrard for her marriage, children, and people. However, while love can give people strength, it can also result in weakness. This sorrow is accentuated in poem 94, “I simply want to be dead", Sappho says, “I simply want to be dead. Weeping she left me with many tears…” In this situation, there was a competition between two lovers (Sappho

600).
Ultimately, I think that Sappho has one fundamental view over the competition for love. It has many factors; some are within our control and some that are not. Based on this, I believe that she see a loved one as someone worth searching and fighting for; however she is abundantly aware that with ever competition there two possible outcomes: victory or loss. Unfortunately, Sappho has a negative outlook on love; yet, she longs for it.
2. Personally, I believe that what makes poetry great is poets implementation of description and emotion. While my favorite poet is Emily Bronte, the Greek poet Sappho and the Latin poet Catullus do an excellent job of recognition of the body, especially a human mind. To juxtapose each poets’ views, I found that Sappho’s poem 31 (“He seems to me equal to gods”) and Catullus’ poem 51 (“In my eyes he seems like a god’s co-equal”) contribute to understanding their differences.
While these works are similar, they have stark differences. In lines 5 and 6, Catullus says, “sweetly laughing-that sunders unhappy me from all my senses” (Catullus 964). This show that, for Catullus, love is intense separates him from all his other feelings. On the other hand, in lines 5 and 6, Sappho says, “lovely laughing – oh it puts the heart in my chest on wings” (Sappho 598). I believe that this phrase is equal to being blissfully in love or getting butterflies; therefore, I think that Sappho is aware of her feelings in a positive way.
However, the endings of both poems show largest disparity. Sappho describes her feelings are debilitating and hopeless (Sappho 598); whereas, Catullus interprets his feeling as a catalyst for fighting for love (Catullus 964). Either way, both poets are deeply in touch with the human mind just in different lights.
3. While Hollywood has made us believe that faking love can be easy, I believe that it is one of the hardest task there could ever be. I believe that love (or lack of it) makes people do crazy things like hurt other, cheat, lie, etc. Evidence for love being real can be found in Catullus’ 25 poems to his lover, Lesbia. Since Catullus’ their love was forbidden, I think he was protecting Lesbia by not stating her real name. In addition, Catullus’ descriptions are too deep and vivid for it to be fakes; while Lesbia herself may not be real, the footnote reveal it is a pseudonym (Catullus 960).
Take poem 5, for example, “Let’s live, Lesbia mine, and love--and as for scandal, all the gossip, old men’s strictures...knowing the final sum of all our kisses.” (Catullus 960). In this poem, Catullus is attempting to convince Lesbia to disregard others’ opinions and run away with him. I believe that it is too difficult to write about love if you have never felt it; therefore, it leads me to believe that Lesbia is real. Catullus goes on to say, “You’d like to know how many of your kisses would be enough and over, Lesbia, for me? Match them to every grain of Libyan sand…” (Catullus 960). It seems unbelievable that a person to long to be with and feel the affection of a another person who is nonexistent or present in their life. Consequently, I believe that Lesbia is describing a real person.
4. Sometimes people have a hard time expressing their feelings, sometimes people have a hard time with words, sometimes people have a hard time expressing their feelings with words, but Catullus didn’t have a hard time with any of these. With his vivid employment of imagery, metaphors, and diction, Catullus is is able to express his feeling towards Lesbia.
After reading each of the poems and fragments, the reader can conclude that Catullus was frustrated about his relationship with Lesbia; he loved her truly and deeply, but he hated that it she wasn’t truly all his--everything had to be faked. As times, Catullus is completely in love and overtaken by his emotions for Lesbia “My Lesbia, that Lesbia, who alone Catullus loved More than himself” (Catullus 964). It is evident when reading that many of Catullus’ love poems include some erotic phrases, but many do not, “Let’s live, Lesbia mine, and love--and as for scandal, all the gossip, old men’s strictures...knowing the final sum of all our kisses.” (Catullus 960); these stand out to me, because it shows the reader (and Lesbia) that Catullus’ feelings toward her transcend physically attraction.
However, live all love stories, there is an element of tragedy, “Wretched Catullus, stop this stupid tomfool stuff…” (Catullus 961).

Catullus understands that he and Lesbia are not in the best situation regarding their relationship, “Lesbia’s always bad-mouthing me, never stops talking of me.” (Catullus 975). In both of these statements, the reader would believe that Catullus is starting to come to the realization that this relationship can never transpire and is losing hope. However, while the situation may frustrate him, Catullus loves Lesbia unconditionally, “I hate and I love. You wonder, perhaps, why I’d do that? I have no idea. I just feel it. I am crucified” (Catullus

975).
Ultimately, Catullus chooses his words very carefully to create an image for Lesbia (and the reader). This implementation of diction, images, and metaphors helps Catullus achieve his purpose of presenting to Lesbia that his feelings for her are complicated, intense, and (most importantly) transcends physical attraction. Catullus aims to get his points across to Lesbia in hopes of convincing her to disregard everyone and everything. In conclusion, Catullus employs pathos to make Lesbia feel loved, sorry, and strong enough to choose him.