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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 874.01
EAN: 9780520242647
ISBN: 0520242645
Label: University of California Press
Manufacturer: University of California Press
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 360
Publication Date: 2005-08
Publisher: University of California Press
Studio: University of California Press

Catullus, who lived during some of the most interesting and tumultuous years of the late Roman Republic, spent his short but intense life (?84-54 B.C.E.) in high Roman society, rubbing shoulders with various cultural and political luminaries, including Caesar, Cicero, and Pompey. Catullus's poetry is by turns ribald, lyric, romantic, satirical; sometimes obscene and always intelligent, it offers us vivid pictures of the poet's friends, enemies, and lovers. The verses to his friends are bitchy, funny, and affectionate; those to his enemies are often wonderfully nasty. Many poems brilliantly evoke his passionate affair with Lesbia, often identified as Clodia Metelli, a femme fatale ten years his senior and the smart, adulterous wife of an arrogant aristocrat. Cicero later claimed she poisoned her husband.
This new bilingual translation of Catullus's surviving poems by Peter Green is fresh, bawdy, and utterly engaging. Unlike its predecessors, it adheres to the principle that the rhythm of a poem, whether familiar or not, is among the most crucial elements for its full appreciation. Green provides an essay on the poet's life and literary background, a historical sketch of the politically fraught late Roman Republic in which Catullus lived, copious notes on the poems, a wide-ranging bibliography for further reading, and a full glossary.

Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Catullus!
Review: I am a Latin student studying for the AP Latin Lit Exam and I bought this book because it had every Catullus poem in English and in Latin. The translations are very close to the original latin, while also capturing the spirit of the poems. Peter Green is a great translator and there is a great glossary of places and names as well as copious notes on the poems themselves. Highly recommended!

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The Poems of Catullus: very useful adjunct to the AP Latin Lit classroom
Review: I have enjoyed sharing the translation of Cat. 63 with my AP students, and the complete text of Cat. 64 (after they read the Ariadne episode in Latin). It's very easy to glance across the page at the Latin and get at least some sense of it; since what we're reading in translation is in addition to the AP syllabus, this seems appropriate. The translator's notes on 63 and 64 are also worth reading, in my opinion. Using this book has allowed me a better way to make my students at least somewhat familiar with the long poems of Catullus.

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Less romantic than I expected
Review: I got this book as a xmas gift from my mom. She picked it out from my wishlist. I've studied much Latin, but I completely skipped over Catullus as an undergrad. That's why, I put a Bilingual edition on my wish list rather than just an English translation. I wanted to get a real feel for the actual poetry.
I'm not very familiar with Catullus and I honestly thought that there would be more romantic love poems throughout the book. I think that it was a good thing that there were more 'vulgar' poems in the book because they left a strong impression and because they made those rare instances of romantic poetry stand out more brilliantly. Personally, my favorite poem was about Catullus thinking about his home. It really resonated with me because I have travelled so much.
I think that this is an excellent intermediate level Latin book and that if you haven't acquainted yourself with Catullus, this is the method to do so!
kittie

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