Poem 51 (Ille mi par esse deo videtur)

E765175

Poem 51 ("Ille mi par esse deo videtur") is Catullus’s celebrated Latin adaptation of a Sapphic love lyric, expressing intense emotional turmoil and physical symptoms of desire as he watches his beloved with another man.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Poem 51 (Ille mi par esse deo videtur) canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Latin lyric poem
adaptation of Greek poetry
love poem
addressee Lesbia
author Gaius Valerius Catullus
linked to: Catullus
basedOn Sappho fr. 31 (φαίνεταί μοι κῆνος ἴσος θέοισιν)
basedOnAuthor Sappho
characterMentioned Lesbia
closingTheme otium as dangerous to the lover
collection Carmina of Catullus
linked to: Catulli Carmina
containsWord otium
culturalContext late Roman Republic
emotionalTone conflicted
intense
genre love lyric
inCollectionWith Poem 5 (Vivamus mea Lesbia atque amemus)
Poem 8 (Miser Catulle, desinas ineptire)
influencedBy Aeolic meters
linked to: Asclepiadean meter

Greek lyric poetry
language Latin
literaryDevice first-person narration
hyperbole
imagery of bodily disintegration
literarySignificance key text in Catullan love poetry cycle
major example of Latin reception of Sappho
literaryTradition Neoteric poetry
metricalForm Sapphic stanza
motif comparison of rival to a god
darkness covering the eyes
fire running under the skin
loss of speech
ringing in the ears
narrativeSituation speaker watches beloved conversing with another man
numberInCollection 51
openingWords Ille mi par esse deo videtur
period 1st century BCE
preservedIn Verona manuscript tradition of Catullus
scholarlyInterest adaptation of Greek meters into Latin
intertextuality with Sappho
representation of male desire in Roman poetry
sourceType adaptation rather than direct translation
structure three Sapphic stanzas followed by one Adonic line in Latin adaptation
theme emotional turmoil
erotic desire
jealousy
physical symptoms of love
unrequited love

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Catullus hasWork Poem 51 (Ille mi par esse deo videtur)