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ivyficThe choir I sing in is performing a piece based on the poetry of Catullus, a first century BC poet, at the next concert. Catullus fell in love with a prostitute who then dumped him, at which point he moped himself into an early grave. But man--this guy knows how to write about a bad break-up:
(text "freely" translated by Dominick Argento)
Now suddenly she no longer wants your love,
And you, being helpless, must give up this longing,
Cease to pursue her.
...
O immortal gods, if you truly have pity,
Tear out from my heart this pestilence, this plague
Whose insidious gnawing has driven all joy from my breast.
I no longer ask that this woman should love me,
Nor do I ask the impossible, that she be chaste.
My only wish now is that I be healed,
And this terrible pain be assuaged.
(text "freely" translated by Dominick Argento)
Now suddenly she no longer wants your love,
And you, being helpless, must give up this longing,
Cease to pursue her.
...
O immortal gods, if you truly have pity,
Tear out from my heart this pestilence, this plague
Whose insidious gnawing has driven all joy from my breast.
I no longer ask that this woman should love me,
Nor do I ask the impossible, that she be chaste.
My only wish now is that I be healed,
And this terrible pain be assuaged.
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no subject
Date: 2008-03-04 11:36 pm (UTC)Ask any classicist about him and you'll get an earful.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 12:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 02:04 am (UTC)What I love about this particular poem is that, unlike the other 99% of the break up poems out there, he's not begging for the woman back. No. He acknowledges that it's over. He's just having a hard time getting on with his life. And that, I feel, is a much more affecting approach, since you know there's no hope of reunion.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 03:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 02:51 pm (UTC)...okay, I have to know: What's the Latin word for hand-job?