Catullus

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Rhapsody
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Catullus

Post by Rhapsody »

What kind of metres does catullus use? I Know vergil uses Dactylic hexameter, phaedrus iambic hexameter and horace a lot of them.

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benissimus
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Post by benissimus »

I have seen poems of his in all of these metres: choliambic, hendecasyllabic, Phalacean, elegiac couplets
flebile nescio quid queritur lyra, flebile lingua murmurat exanimis, respondent flebile ripae

Ulpianus
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Post by Ulpianus »

Lots of different metres, I believe, but the majority of poems are either hendecasyllables (mostly in, and most of, the first 58 poem) or elegiacs (65 to 116) with 62 + 64 dactylic hexameter. The rest a variety, in particular a range of different iambics.

So I think he falls into the "lot of them" camp, probably. Apparently his pentameters are "uncouth" ... Lucky someone told me: useful to know the right thing to say: "Catullus, so fresh, but his pentameter ... what must one say ... uncouth!"

Rhapsody
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Post by Rhapsody »

Ok! thank you very much

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benissimus
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Post by benissimus »

There is also that beautiful Catullus 63 which is apparently in a unique and mysterious metre. I just remembered I also saw a Catullus poem in Sapphic stanza.
flebile nescio quid queritur lyra, flebile lingua murmurat exanimis, respondent flebile ripae

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