How and Whom Do We Love?
Roman poets Ovid, Catullus, Propertius, and Tibullus, all define love in a similar way. All four poets describe love as being unrequited and sexual, with Ovid, Catullus and Tibullus being more erotic. Though they all are in "love" with their mistresses, they describe verbal and physical signs of abuse within the same timeframe of describing their passions. How can the two be connected when so vastly apart? Ovid writes about the same type of puella as Catullus, Propertius, and Tibullus. Ovid, Catullus, and Propertius make us question if the puella they describe is their mistress or just a fantasy. What makes them a real person? What keeps them a fantasy?
Ovid, Catullus, and Propertius
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As noted above, their puellas have many similarities., including how their poets love them. Ovid's heart burns for Corrina. He makes it clear that she is taken by another, whom shall be called her beloved. Rather than love her from afar, he places himself at a dinner with Corinna and her beloved. He instructs her on how she should act with him. She is not to allow him to touch her, nor is she to touch him.. She is instructed to get him drink so that he will pass out and she will not have to be with him. As if visualizing how she should avoid him were not enough, Ovid goes as far as he can to get near her....to her door. Rather than accept that Corinna does not feel the same, he instructs her to "convincingly" tell him that she had "no fun" after spending the night with her beloved. This will suffice him. Ovid also talks of unrequited love in Echo and Narcissus. When Narcissus refuses to return Echo's love and affection, she literally wastes away. Ironically. Narcissus himself wastes away when he is not able to receive love from the one he has fallen in love …show more content…
As Catullus talks about Lesbia's beloved pet dying, we are led to believe that Lesbia is his girlfriend. He speaks in great detail about her relationship with her pet sparrow. Surely Lesbia is as least his girlfriend, if not his wife. We soon learn that Catullus is making a fool of himself. Though at some point is appears that Lesbia returned his love, it is clear now that she does not as she tells him no. He is left to prepare himself to be rigid against Lesbia. Propertius' heart burns for Cynthia. He leads us to believe that she returned his love at some time in which he was amongst those who are happy in love. Cynthia then makes it clear in a formal letter that she does not share his feelings of love.
Each poet, Ovid, Catullus, Propertius, and Tibullus, has a puella that they are in love, or lust with. Their puellas share similarities with each other. Some of them more than others. The similarity that they all share is that each puella is described as a mistress. Or are they a fantasy? One cannot help but envision the beauty these women bestow. Ovid talks of Corinna's hair tumbling down on each side of her neck. He also goes into detail to describe her perfect body to us. Propertius also talks about Cynthia's hair when he discusses forming curls with her loose hair. Is the visualization of hair enough to make these women
I will argue that we may view the woman as representative of Odysseus’ grief in his moment of pity and pain, the simile in its entirety may be regarded as analogous to a potential future for his own oikos. Should he fail to return home or succeed to return only to deceit and demise, Odysseus will initiate the splintering of his home into the rabid hands of the suitors. The simile shifts from referring solely to Odysseus to encompass the possible fate of his entire household. This promotes the idea that this hero reaps what he sows for, as the perpetrator of like monstrosity, he faces the tragedy of a future akin to that of his own surviving victims.
In Robert Fitzgerald's translation of Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is viewed as heroic while making his journey from the Trojan War after the sack of the Troy, back to his homeland Ithaca. Throughout his expedition, his legacy of being a great warrior due to his strength, cleverness, and patience when dealing with individuals is praised by the people of Ithaka, people of Scheria, and Homer himself. For twenty years, Odysseus leaves behind his kingdom, including his wife, Penelope. Along with the sorrow from dealing with her husband's disappearance, Penelope faces coercion from Ithaka to marry one of the 108 suitors who have invaded the kingdom. Consequently, she must express characteristics of maturity in order to not succumb to the suitor’s
This contrasts both Phaedrus’ and Aristophanes’ descriptions of love. She broadly states that “a lover does not seek the half or whole” unless it is “good” because people will even amputate, or separate, part of their own body if diseased (Sym. 205E). Aristophanes argues “love is the name for our pursuit of wholeness” but Diotima explains this cannot be true if the other half is bad, even if it seems to bring wholeness, such as bodies with a temporary veneer of beauty (Sym. 192E). So, love must be explained by separating it to an upwards trajectory, rising towards the concept of good. Otherwise love is only an impermanent “promise” (Sym. 193D). Therefore, Aristophanes’ lack of separation from the concrete cause love to come from incompleteness and a fallen condition (Dutton Lecture). Likewise, Phaedrus’ speech lacks a removal from the present and therefore fails to explain love’s effects, as seen in his Achilles and Patroclus example. To Phaedrus, Achilles still dying after Patroclus passes is love, for “no one will die for you but a lover” (Sym. 179B). But, Diotima claims this love is unhealthy as it fails to represent the abstract notion of beauty. Since beauty is something to be indirectly experienced, it is unmeasurable and instead “preserves”
Byblis and Myrrha, two of Ovid's impassioned, transgressive heroines, confess incestuous passions. Byblis yearns for her brother, Caunus, and Myrrha lusts for her father, Cinyras. Mandelbaum translates these tales effectively, but sometimes a different translation by Crane brings new meaning to an argument. As Byblis and Myrrha realize the feelings at hand, they weigh the pros and cons of such emotions. Despite the appalling relationships in question, each young girl provides concrete support and speaks in such a way that provokes pity for her plight. Their paths of reasoning coincide, but Byblis starts where Myrrha's ends, and visa versa; Myrrha begins where Byblis' concludes.
Penelope and Helen are the real human women who can steal men's hearts with their own feminine ways and they never let their man go. Helen stole the heart of Paris and later married Menelaus-the love that Paris had for Helen began the long Trojan War. Even with her shaded past, Helen is able to live her life as a proper adjusted middle-class matron. Penelope and Odysseus were only together for a few years before he was sent off to war and, while he was gone for over twenty years, his love for her lasted. Penelope is the symbol of marital fidelity, of trust, honor and devotion.
Telemachia frames the character of Penelope, wife of protagonist Odysseus, through her loyalty her husband. Telemachia presents Penelope as the epitome of faithfulness by giving her a storyline that consistently tests it. In the books, Penelope’s home has been flooded by suitors seeking her hand in marriage for years after Odysseus’ disappearance, as her son, Telemakhos tells Athena they “are here courting my mother… Spurn them she dare not, though she hates that marriage, nor can she bring herself to choose among them.” (1.293, 1.295-296.) Through the initial exposition of Penelope’s resistance to the suitors, her unfailing loyalty to Odysseus is established early in the poem. Penelope’s other important character traits are also revealed through
Psappo’s poetry was the model from which ancient cultures defined love. Her views on love have influenced many works of literature, including The Aeneid of Virgil. Love is an uncontrollable force that strikes an individual from the outside and can occur suddenly as well as unexpectedly. Love is often depicted as a positive emotion that causes people to feel blissful, but this can easily turn into furor; furor is the aspect of love associated with violence and insanity. Dido’s love for Aeneas exemplifies the internal turmoil that afflicts individuals when they are deprived of the love that they crave so ardently. Virgil accomplishes this through the incorporation of the symbol of fire and through the platonic metaphor of the war between
Poets have written love poems for centuries with the first said to be around 1000BC. But what is love? It is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘ to have attachment to and affection for’. However, after studying various love poems, I have found that love is portrayed in many different ways. It can be possessive, hateful and pure and the fact that William Shakespeare said ‘The course of true love never did run smooth’ suggests that love is more complicated than a simple dictionary definition.
In calling love “a serious mental disease,” Plato inspired centuries of authors, doctors, and philosophers. Unlike romantic comedy movies and the Top 40 pop songs chart, which idolize love, literature frequently portrays it as a sickness. Both love and mental illness affect brain chemistry, mood, and behavior. In pieces such as Euripides’ Medea, symptoms of love range from mental illness-like ailments to physical manifestations such as a vanishing appetite, concentration, and apparent sanity. In Longus’ work, love is described as having similar traits. Throughout the story of Daphnis and Chloe’s pastoral romance, love drives both of them mad with longing. Love amplifies their innocent feelings for each other, resulting in a disorienting combination of depression and mania. The affliction goes deeper; their total devotion to each other and pastoral
Relationships and marriages have been occurring since the beginning of mankind, but only some of these bonds have held steady through the perils of life while keeping love as an important factor in the relationship. The faithfulness of Penelope, Odysseus’ endeavors to return home, and how the royal couple treats each other all show what an extraordinary relationship Penelope and Odysseus share; their love manages to survive even against the odds.
The Range of Feelings Associated with Love in Catullus and Lesbia' Poems Of Catullus’s poems, the Lesbia poems are the most memorable, particularly as they contain such a wide range of feelings and emotions. Whilst we do not know what order the poems were written in, it is tempting to arrange them in a progression from constant love, to confusion and despair and finally hatred. Poem 87 appears to be at the beginning of the relationship between Catullus and Lesbia. The symmetry of the couplets beginning “nulla” and ending with “mea est” emphasizes the idea that no one loves Lesbia as much as Catullus.
Love, in classical Greek literature, is commonly considered as a prominent theme. Love, in present days, always appears in the categories of books, movies or music, etc. Interpreted differently by different people, Love turns into a multi-faceted being.
The dashing hero of Homer’s The Odyssey is one who does not go unnoticed by the many women he meets on his arduous journey back to his hometown. In the story, there are three women whose fascination with Odysseus serves as a necessary point for consideration. Between the shallow love of Circe, the queen of Aiaia; the forceful acts of Kalypso, the imperious nymph; and the pure and sincere love of Penelope, Odysseus’ faithful wife; the many lovers that pursue Odysseus each have a unique perspective of the unquestionably alluring [traveler].
Contrary to many men who believe that a man must be strong and not show a woman his tenderness, Ovid shares his heart, saying, “do not think it a shame to suffer her blows or her curses; do not think it a shame, stooping, to kiss her feet” (Art 2. 522-553) . This is simply an outstanding statement, as it serves to show the true emotion and character of Ovid. This statement cannot be taken lightly
In Ovid’s stories about love it almost never leads to a happy ending, although the quest for love is prevalent. In the myths, sex without love, seems to be a recurring theme and rarely do things go well for our hero’s or damsels. Rape is how the gods show affection, Peleas uses bondage for his display of affection for Thetis, where as Tereus uses mutilation, as rips poor Philomela’s tongue out after his rape, foreplay for the women in mythology is not something to be dreamed of. The women are no better as Medea’s love for Jason causes her to betray her family, and Scylla to scalp her father, even the goddess of love, Venus is denied happiness. No matter how many times Jupiter seduces a poor maiden, or Juno unleashes her revenge, the