Poem 51 (Ille mi par esse deo videtur)
E765175
Poem 51 ("Ille mi par esse deo videtur") is Catullus’s celebrated Latin adaptation of a Sapphic love lyric, expressing intense emotional turmoil and physical symptoms of desire as he watches his beloved with another man.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Latin lyric poem
ⓘ
adaptation of Greek poetry ⓘ love poem ⓘ |
| addressee | Lesbia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| author | Gaius Valerius Catullus NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| basedOn | Sappho fr. 31 (φαίνεταί μοι κῆνος ἴσος θέοισιν) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| basedOnAuthor | Sappho NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| characterMentioned | Lesbia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| closingTheme | otium as dangerous to the lover ⓘ |
| collection | Carmina of Catullus NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| containsWord | otium ⓘ |
| culturalContext | late Roman Republic ⓘ |
| emotionalTone |
conflicted
ⓘ
intense ⓘ |
| genre | love lyric ⓘ |
| inCollectionWith |
Poem 5 (Vivamus mea Lesbia atque amemus)
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Poem 8 (Miser Catulle, desinas ineptire) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| influencedBy |
Aeolic meters
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Greek lyric poetry ⓘ |
| language | Latin ⓘ |
| literaryDevice |
first-person narration
ⓘ
hyperbole ⓘ imagery of bodily disintegration ⓘ |
| literarySignificance |
key text in Catullan love poetry cycle
ⓘ
major example of Latin reception of Sappho ⓘ |
| literaryTradition | Neoteric poetry ⓘ |
| metricalForm | Sapphic stanza NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| motif |
comparison of rival to a god
ⓘ
darkness covering the eyes ⓘ fire running under the skin ⓘ loss of speech ⓘ ringing in the ears ⓘ |
| narrativeSituation | speaker watches beloved conversing with another man ⓘ |
| numberInCollection | 51 ⓘ |
| openingWords | Ille mi par esse deo videtur ⓘ |
| period | 1st century BCE ⓘ |
| preservedIn | Verona manuscript tradition of Catullus NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| scholarlyInterest |
adaptation of Greek meters into Latin
ⓘ
intertextuality with Sappho ⓘ representation of male desire in Roman poetry ⓘ |
| sourceType | adaptation rather than direct translation ⓘ |
| structure | three Sapphic stanzas followed by one Adonic line in Latin adaptation ⓘ |
| theme |
emotional turmoil
ⓘ
erotic desire ⓘ jealousy ⓘ physical symptoms of love ⓘ unrequited love ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.