Latin Lyric Poetry: Catullus, Horace, and Martial
Latin Lyric Poetry
The name lyric derives from the Greek word lyros, which was a stringed musical instrument that accompanied the poets. This genre groups all poetic compositions that express emotions and feelings. In fact, the genre came under melodies and dances. As it was getting rid of them, it became more complex and intense. Thus, the musical vacuum is compensated by perfection in the use of words. Still, it can be seen in the names of the poetic compositions reminiscent of music: ballad, from ballare (to dance), sonnet from Sonitus (sound, music note), ode from ode (song), psalm from Psalmus (harp music).
Catullus
Catullus belonged to the generation before Horace and lived a life as brief and passionate as the vitality expressed in his compositions. He left a series of love poems, which have become a model for modern literature. 116 poems have been preserved, Carmina, dealing with different topics:
- Nugae: Trinkets, named by Catullus, for topics related to everyday life. However, they are notable for their strong feelings and high inspiration.
- Poems for scholars, inspired by Alexandrian and mythological themes.
- Epigrammatic: Epigrams about real-life issues.
Horace
Horace lived in Rome, depleted and tired of wars, that sought peace and quiet. Born in southern Italy into a family of freedmen, he had a good education in Rome and Athens. Maecenas protected him, and he could live fully devoted to poetry. In his work, the Epodes (seventeen pieces), inspired by the Greek lyric, differ fundamentally.
It is known specifically that it begins with “Beatus ille.” Fray Luis de Leon’s cousin translated and imitated it later in his Ode to Retired Life. Odes mark the zenith of Latin lyric poetry. There are 104 compositions collected in four books. They are written in a solemn and severe tone and cover many topics: personal feelings, scenes of daily life, and patriotic exaltation.
The Elegy
It is a subgenre within the lyric, where funeral laments, praise, and patriotic exaltation were expressed. But in the first century BC, poems of love and personal issues were written. Later, with Ovid, painful poetry emerged, which became elegiac poetry as we understand it in modern times.
- Tibullus: Wrote Tibullianum Corpus, four books of elegy evoking love and nature with one desire: to live alone in the field with a loved one, away from war.
- Propertius: Wrote Elegiae, four books of elegies on various topics: feelings of love, funeral laments, praise, and Italic legends.
Roman Epigram
The first epigram was imported from Greece and had a mournful tone, but it gradually changed to adopt a frivolous, lighthearted, and poignant tone. Martial is the undisputed master, who described with great irony all kinds of details about Roman life at the time.
Martial
Martial was born in Bilbilis in Tarraconensis but finished his studies in Rome. He was a friend of Quintilian and Pliny the Younger. He lived thirty years in Rome but returned to settle on a farm donated by a fan. However, he always longed for the life of Rome. 1500 epigrams are attributed to him in fifteen books. He despised mythological themes and was particularly inclined to describe the Roman man and woman with their strengths and weaknesses. For this reason, his work is a portrait of social classes, the passions of the people, the vices, and the customs of its inhabitants. The epigram soon became bold poetry.