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What do we learn about Catullus the man from the selection of poetry we have read
trying to say here that he is not going to provide any of that as he already has everything he needs in his girl and so he is jokingly asking Fabulus to bring with him his own 'entertainment' for the night. Catullus throughout this whole poem, until it comes to the perfume, 'quod Veneres -que Cupidines donarunt meae puella,' definitely alludes to the view that he has a girl, Lesbia or not, but that line with it's reference to the Gods just shows that Catullus's head is truly and firmly, with the, 'Veneres -que Cupidines' on this issue.
Although seeming to be modest about his own work, Catullus does not hold back from criticising other poets work if he deems it to be poor. In poem thirty-six for example, Catullus's victims are the, 'annales Volusi' which he labels as, 'cacita carta' simultaneously using alliteration to harden the cursing. He is very harsh about Volusius' work as even though his annals are, 'cacita carta' they are the, 'electissima scripta' of Volusius', one of the, 'pessimi poetae.' Catullus continues his critique streak through to poem ninety five where this time his victim is, 'Hortensius' who he believes, 'edita quingenta milia' too many of his throwaway verses. This time he emphasises his criticism by comparing the work to his friend, 'Cinnae Zmyrna'. Cinna's more careful craftsmanship ensures that, 'saecula cana diu pervolent Satrachi' and that Hatrachius' hasty outpourings are ensured nothing more that a fate of providing, 'laxas tunicas scombris.'
Catullus shows his ability to skilfully portray feeling and emotions in two poems of the selection. In poem thirty-one Catullus is concerned with the simple feelings of joy and emotion. It is an unartificial outpouring of the two emotions epitomised by such lines as, 'o quid beatius curus est solutis' and, 'ridete quidquid cachinnorum est domi.' The poem is about the great release of the mind from, 'onus' when one is in familiar surroundings. Though Catullus is dealing with simple themes he counterbalances the poem utilising a consciously complex formulation and wordplay for example with, 'Thyniam atque Bithynos.' Catullus touches on the more solemn emotions when writing about his experiences at his brother's, 'munere' in poem one hundred and one. Simultaneously as he is portraying his, 'fletu' emotion he shows his intellectual side by employing resigned irony with such lines as, 'advenio…ut…mutam nequiquam alloquerer cinerem.' Through such examples of observation Catullus creates the atmosphere of there being a real 'brotherly' understanding between himself and the corpse of his brother, behind the picture he paints of the, 'tristi' ceremony.
Catullus shows more of his intellectual prowess in his rendition of, 'The Story of Attis.' This poem has been described of as, 'a study of fanatic devotion and subsequent disillusionment (not unlike Catullus' situation between himself and Lesbia then!) Catullus presents a very real sense of desolation that a natural man would feel in the midst of the strange scenes that appear throughout the poem. Catullus during the [next page]