If the Romans had pop radio, Catullus would be playing on it. This observation was made today after we translated a prose adaptation of Catullus 8. (N.B. I’m in LAT 506 which is the lowest-level taught at UT so it’s nothing groundbreaking…)
Puella mea mē nōn amat. Valē, puella! Catullus obdūrat: poēta puellam nōn amat, fōrmam puellae nōn laudat, puellae rosās nōn dat, et puellam nōn bāsiat! Īra mea est magna! Obdūrō, mea puella- sed sine tē nōn valeō.
My girl does not love me. Goodbye girl. Catullus is tough: the poet does not love the girl, does not praise the girl’s beauty, does not give roses to the girl, and does not kiss the girl! My anger is great! I am tough, my girl- but without you, I am not well.
I can just picture a song with similar lyrics playing on KISS FM right now.
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