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Chapter 2 - ‘Shall I Compare Thee … ?’ Catullus 68B and the Limits of Analogy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2021

Denis Feeney
Introduction by
Stephen Hinds
Denis Feeney
Affiliation:
Princeton University, New Jersey
Stephen Hinds
Affiliation:
University of Washington
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Summary

Catullus 68 is largely composed of similes, and the chapter discusses how the similes in the poem appear to try to describe the poet’s emotions and experience by creating analogies; in the end, Catullus’ efforts to capture his experience in words are revealed as futile, since each of his attempts to illustrate something just ends up taking him further away from the thing itself.

Keywords

Catullus 68similecomparisonmetaphorLesbiaLaodamia
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Chapter
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Explorations in Latin Literature , pp. 37 - 51
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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