CATULLUS: Poem 5

vivamus mea Lesbia, atque amemus,

Translation:
"Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love."

Stylistic Point:

• Imperatives: "Vivamus" (let us live) and "amemus" (let us love) set a tone of urgency and passion.

• Direct address: "Mea Lesbia" personalizes the poem, emphasizing intimacy.

rumoresque senum severiorum

omnes unius aestimemus assis!

Translation:
"And let us value all the gossip of stern old men at just one penny!"

Stylistic Point:

• Hyperbole: Dismissing "rumores" (gossip) as worth "unius assis" (a single penny) diminishes societal judgment, stressing personal freedom.

• Alliteration: The repetition of "s" in "senum severiorum" mimics the hiss of disapproval.

• Word placement: “assis” is kicked right to the end, its value is so low

• Enjambment: This places stress onto the last “assis”, stressing the low value

soles occidere et redire possunt:

nobis cum semel occidit brevis lux,

nox est perpetua una dormienda.

Translation:
"Suns can set and return:
but when our brief light sets,
there is one eternal night for us to sleep through."

Stylistic Point:

• Contrast: The cyclical renewal of "soles" (suns) is juxtaposed with human mortality, highlighting the finality of death.

• Euphemism: "Dormienda" (must sleep) softens the concept of death, presenting it as eternal rest.

• Assonance: "perpetua una dormienda”, creates a soft tone mirroring that of a soft eternal rest

• Chiasmus/ Parallelism: The structure of "soles occidere et redire possunt" (suns can set and return) reflects a chiastic arrangement. (“soles“ and “possunt” link and “occidere” and “redire” link)

da mi basia mille, deinde centum,

dein mille altera, dein secunda centum,

deinde usque altera mille, deinde centum.

Translation:
"Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred,
then another thousand, then a second hundred,
then yet another thousand, then a hundred more."

Stylistic Point:

• Anaphora: The repetition of "deinde" (then) and "mille" (a thousand) builds a rhythmic and hypnotic intensity.

• Hyperbole: The exaggerated number of kisses conveys boundless passion.

• Polysyndetic: This creates a unstoppable, neverending rhythm mirroring the endless nature of his love for her

dein, cum milia multa fecerimus,

conturbabimus illa, ne sciamus,

aut ne quis malus invidere possit,

cum tantum sciat esse basiorum.

Translation:
"Then, when we have made many thousands,
we will mix them up, so we don’t know,
or so that no evil person can envy us,
knowing how many kisses there have been."

Stylistic Point:

• Secrecy: "Conturbabimus illa" (we will mix them up) symbolizes love that defies enumeration or scrutiny, preserving its private intensity and “Conturbabimus” is a word usually related to shaking up and resetting an Abacus (ancient counting tool). Beads, could be rumours are under their control and are irrelevant.

• Chiasmus: There is a subtle chiastic structure in "conturbabimus illa, ne sciamus" (we will mix them up, so we will not know). The verbs (conturbabimus and sciam(us)) frame the sentence, creating a mirror-like structure that emphasizes the deliberate confusion of the kiss count.

• Alliteration: The repetition of the "m" sound in "milia multa" and "malus" adds a melodic rhythm to the lines, reflecting the intimate and obsessive tone of the poem.

• Polysyndeton: The use of "aut ne" in line 3 is a form of polysyndeton, where conjunctions are repeated to create emphasis. It highlights the two-fold purpose of "confusing" the count of kisses: to prevent both self-awareness (ne sciamus) and envy from others (ne quis malus invidere possit).