Catullus 4 is a poem by the ancient Roman writer
Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His s ...
. The poem concerns the retirement of a well-traveled ship (referred to as a "''phaselus''", also sometimes cited as "''
phasellus''", a variant spelling). Catullus draws a strong analogy with human aging, rendering the boat as a person that flies and speaks, with palms (the oars) and purpose.
The poem is complex, with numerous geographic references and elaborate
litotic double negative
A double negative is a construction occurring when two forms of grammatical negation are used in the same sentence. Multiple negation is the more general term referring to the occurrence of more than one negative in a clause. In some languages, ...
s in a list-like manner. It borrows heavily from
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
vocabulary, and also uses Greek grammar in several sections. The
meter
The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...
of the poem is unusual —
iambic trimeter
The Iambic trimeter is a meter of poetry consisting of three iambic units (each of two feet) per line.
In ancient Greek poetry and Latin poetry, an iambic trimeter is a quantitative meter, in which a line consists of three iambic ''metra''. Eac ...
, which was perhaps chosen to convey a sense of speed over the waves.
Scholars remain uncertain whether the story of the construction and voyages of this ''phasellus'' (ship, yacht, or pinnace), as described or implied in the poem, can be taken literally.
Professor A. D. Hope in his posthumous book of translations from Catullus is one translator who takes it so. His introduction calls the phasellus “his yacht, in which he
atullus must have made the return voyage
rom Bithynia and the translation ends
''Until she made landfall in this limpid lake.'' /
''But that was aforetime and she is laid up now . . .''
However Hope also left, in his final collection of poetry ''Aubade'', a much freer translation, adaptation, or erotic parody,
[The drafting of this version is discussed in Hope’s Notebooks, since transcribed and edited by Ann McCulloch as ''Dance of the Nomad: a study of the selected notebooks of A.D. Hope'', Canberra, ANU Press, 2005 p. 323.] in which the phasellus seems to be, in effect, a phallus. This version says that the phasellus
''claims that in his hey-day with mainsail and spanker'' / ''He outsailed all vessels'';
and the ending becomes:
''At his last landfall now, beyond all resurgence,'' /
''View him careened upon a final lee-shore;'' /
''. . . Sing for the captain who will put to sea no more!''
Among a number of other interpretations, Catullus 4 has also been interpreted as a
parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
of
epic poetry
An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants.
...
, or the boat as a metaphor for the
Ship of state
The Ship of State is an ancient and oft-cited metaphor, famously expounded by Plato in the ''Republic'' (Book 6, 488a–489d), which likens the governance of a city-state to the command of a vessel. Plato expands the established metaphor and ult ...
.
Text
Notes
Bibliography
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References
External links
Catullus 4: Text, translations and notes, at the Perseus Collection.
{{Catullus
C004
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