Catullus the Conversationalist: A Study of the Relationship between Narrator and Reader

Abstract

Catullus shows his prowess as a poet by the wide range of tone and central characters included in his poetry. Due to these frequent changes, it can often be difficult to make general statements about the style and narrative voice of the corpus. The goal of this thesis is to demonstrate that by considering Catullus’ methods in employing rhetorical strategies, such as direct address and rhetorical questions, it is possible to point out patterns in the ways that the poet creates a relationship between the narrator, the reader, and other characters in the poem. The first chapter will consider select poems from Catullus’ invective, primarily those which deal with the character Mentula, or Mamurra. In these poems, the direct addresses and rhetorical questions strengthen the accusatory nature of the narrator’s attacks. Chapter 2 explores how the speaker makes use of these strategies to create various comparisons between himself, his lover “Lesbia,” and potential rivals or jealous onlookers. Finally, the third chapter discusses the narrator’s use of these devices within the ekphrasis of the Ariadne coverlet of Poem 64 to make the reader “present” in the scenes and to draw attention to the speaker’s subjective response to the coverlet and its figures.