latin ocr gcse verse literature - Otium - Poem 13 - lines 1-14 (all)

cenabis bene, mi Fabulle, apud me

paucis, si tibi di favent, diebus,

You will dine well at my house, my Fabullus, within a few days, if the gods are favourable to you

si tecum attuleris bonam atque magnam

cenam, non sine candida puella

et vino et sale et omnibus cachinnis.

if you bring a good and substantial meal with you, as well as a pretty girl, wine, wit, and all kinds of laughter.

haec si, inquam, attuleris, venuste noster,

cebabis bene; nam tui Catulli

plneus sacculus est aranearum.

If you bring these, I declare, my charming fellow, the money bag of your Catullus is full of cobwebs.

sed contra accipies meros amores

seu quid suavius elegantiusve est:

But in return, you will receive true love, or whatever is more pleasant or elegant:

nam unguentum dabo, quod meae puellae

donarunt Veneres Cupidinesque,

for I shall give you perfume which all the goddesses of love and the gods of desire have given to my girlfriend,

quod tu cum olfacies, deos rogabis,

totum ut te faciant, Fabulle, nasum.

and when you smell this, you will ask the gods, Fabullus, to make you all nose.

‘cenabis bene’ line 1

‘You will dine well’ - alliteration of ‘b’ creates a harsh sound - certainty about the good dinner - undermined later

‘mi Fabulle’ line 1

‘my Fabullus’ - apostrophe - addressing Fabullus directly - more personal, vivid, sense of pleading

‘Fabulle, apud’ line 1

‘at my house, [my] Fabullus’ - ellision anticipates Fabullus being in Catullus’s house - trying to make it seem more certain

‘paucis…diebus’ line

‘a few days’ - enclosing word order - importance of god’s favour (if the gods are favourable to you) - superstition creates uncertainty about dinner, as well as ‘few’, sets scene for what follows

‘cenabis bene…si..attuleris…si..attuleris…cenabis bene’ lines 1,3,6,7

‘you will dine well..if you bring' x2 - 2x repetition emphasises unusual request, 1-2-2-1 structure - chiasmus - emphasis on ‘you will dine well’ - reward, also emphasises Catullus’s commands, emphasises skill at writing - showing off

‘bonum atque magnam/cenam’ lines 3/4

‘a good and substantial meal’ - alliteration of ‘m’ at the end creates a threatening sound - Catullus is demanding

‘magnum cenam’ line 3/4

‘substantial meal’ - enjambment creates suspense over what Fabullus has to bring

‘non sine’ line 4

‘as well as’ - litotes - not clear, uncertain - when will it take place, threatening - negative tone of ‘non’

‘et vino et sale et omnibus’ line 5

‘and wine and wit and all kinds of’ - polysyndeton - emphasises all the things Fabullus needs to bring - a bit demanding

‘sale’ line 5

‘wit’ - literal meaning ‘salt’ - humorous tone, funny - trying to make demands seem light hearted

‘inquam…venuste noster/…tui Catulli’ line 6/7

‘I declare..my charming fellow...your Catullus’ - wheedling, flattering tone, whilst requesting - trying to seem less demanding

‘plenus’ line 8

‘full’ - at start of phase - we assume full of money - creates suspense

‘aranearum’ line 8

‘cobwebs’ - end of line, postponed - creates suspense

‘contra accipies’ line

‘But in return you will receive’ - elision connects receipt, in return - sense of transaction

‘suavius elegantiusve’ line 10

‘pleasant or elegant’ - alliteration of ‘ius’ - links words - emphasises benefits

‘nam unguentum’ line 11

‘for…perfume’ - alliteration of ‘m’ and ‘n’ and assonance - create soft sounds - soothing, persuasive, beauty of perfume

‘meae’ line 11

‘my’ [girlfriend] - not his perfume to give away

‘Veneres Cupidinesque’ line 12

‘the goddesses of love and gods of desire’ - mother and son - pleonasm - emphasises awe of perfume - grandiose effect

‘tu…Fabulle’ lines 13/14

‘you…Fabullus’ - apostrophe

‘totum…nasum’ line 14

‘all nose’ - enclosing word order - Fabullus is inside his nose - all - suspense, unexpected