Catullan Questions Revisited

Combines textual, historical and even archaeological evidence to explode the orthodox view of Catullus' life and work.

T. P. Wiseman (Author)

9781009235747, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 20 October 2022

188 pages
23.5 x 15.9 x 2.1 cm, 0.43 kg

'In light of the wealth of stimuli and suggestions that the volume offers, of the interest of the issues addressed and the breadth of sources and data used, certainly this work will continue to fuel the dialogue between historical criticism and literary criticism on Catullus.' Filomena Bernardo, Exemplaria Classica

Catullan Questions Revisited offers a new insight into the brilliant poet who loved an aristocratic girl, attacked Julius Caesar and became a satirical playwright. Insisting on scrupulous use of the primary sources, Peter Wiseman combines textual, historical and even archaeological evidence to explode the orthodox view of Catullus' life and work. 'Lesbia' was not a woman in her thirties, as has been believed for 150 years, but a girl only recently married; Catullus' poems were written for performance, private or public, and it was only in 54 BC, at what he saw as the turning-point of his life, that he collected their texts into a sequence of probably seven volumes. His subsequent literary career, equally successful but much less well attested, was as a 'mime'-dramatist. This book is intended for everyone who is interested in poetry and history, and who does not believe that literary texts exist in a vacuum.

Part I: 1. Who was Lesbia?
2. How many books?
3. Where was the audience?
4. What were the long poems?
Part II: 5. How Gallic were the Transpadanes?
6. Why is Ariadne naked?
7. Clodia: some imaginary lives.

Subject Areas: Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Literary studies: poetry & poets [DSC], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]