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Ring-Composition in Catullus 64Author(s): David A. TraillSource: The Classical Journal, Vol. 76, No. 3 (Feb. - Mar., 1981), pp. 232-241Published by: The Classical Association of the Middle West and SouthStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3297325.
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RING-COMPOSITION
N
CATULLUS
64
It
is
apparent
o
even
the
casual
reader
of Catullus
64
that a
basic
pattern
of
ring-composition
rticulates he
poem:
prologue-guests-coverlet-Ariadne
and
Theseus-coverlet-guests-epilogue.1
However,
if
the
reader,
encour-
aged by
the elaborate
example
of
Catullus
68,
goes
on to look for
ring-
composition
n
greater
detail,
he is soon confrontedwith awkward
questions.
What s
there
at
the
beginning
o
match
he
lengthy song
of the Fates at the
end?
Whatcorresponds o Ariadne'slament, nearlyone-fifth of the whole? These
and
similardifficultieshave
discouraged
cholars rom
ooking
for
an elaborate
scheme
of
ring-composition.2
Nevertheless,
after a careful
study
of
what
I
considerto be
the
naturaldivisions
of
the
poem,
I
have
come to
the conclusion
that
n
64
Catullus
s
experimenting
with
a
form of
ring-composition
n
which
the related sections
correspond
in
form and
content,
but
may vary quite
markedly
n
length.
The
structure
s
set out
in
diagrammatic
orm
in
Table
1,
and the
verbal echoes which
strengthen
the links
between
corresponding
sections
are
listed in
Table
2.
I
shall
first
attempt
to
show how the
related
sections
correspond
o
one anotherand
then
addressthe
question
of
how
the
discovery of ring-compositionaffects our understanding f the poem.
Since
the
correspondences
re most distinct n the inner
story,
we will
begin
with the
two
coverlet
sections
D
(43-51)
and
d
(265f).
Here
the
links are self-
evident
in
subject
matter and
striking
in
language
(see
Table
2).
In D the
description
of
the
actual
coverlet is
preceded by
lines
which dwell on the
luxuriousness
of
its
setting,
but
since several sections contain
some kind of
prefatory
material,
I
shall discuss this
aspect
of Catullus'
compositional
technique
ater.
The
correspondence
between sections
E
(52-70)
and
e
(249-264)
also
is
clear-cut.
It is in
these
sections,
and these sections
only,
that
the scenes
11
would
like to
express my
indebtedness o
W.
S.
Anderson
of the
University
of
California,
Berkeley,
and
to
the
anonymous
reader
of
CJ
for
helpful
criticism of earlier
draftsof this
article.
The
following
commentarieshave
proved
most useful:
W. Kroll
(Leipzig
1929),
C.
J.
Fordyce
(Oxford
1961),
and K.
Quinn
London
1970).
Subsequent
reference o these commentaries
and
to
the
following
article
will
be
by
author's name
only:
F.
Klingner,
Catulls
Peleus-Epos,
SBBayerAkWiss
1956)
Heft
6,
pp.
1-92,
which is
reprinted
n
his
Studien
(Ziirich
1964)
156-224.
2Klingner
supra
n.
1)
notes
that
the
arrivaland
departure
f the
guests
surrounds
he
Ariadne-
Theseus
inset in
the
form of
ring-composition
p.
30f)
and
that the account of the
wedding
is
interrupted
von der
langen,
in
sich wieder vielfach durchbrochenenund in der
Form der
Ringcomposition
chliesslich
zuriickgebogenen
Einlage (p.
80).
Notable
among
the
attempts
o
see more detailed
ring-composition
are C.
W.
Mendell,
The Influence of the
Epyllion
on the
Aeneid, YCS 12 (1951) 205-226 (he sees Ariadne's lament as the center and omits 1-49 and
267-408
from his
scheme)
and D.
Thomson,
Aspects
of
Unity
in
Catullus
64,
CJ
57
(1961)
49-57
(he
also makes
Ariadne's
ament he
center,
andtreats
he
song
of
the
Fatesas a kindof
coda).
A
further cheme
is
proposed
by
C.
Murley,
The
Structure nd
Proportion
f
Catullus
LXIV,
TAPA68
(1937)
305-317.
None of these
schemes
has
won much
acceptance.
For further
bibliog-
raphy
on
the
poem
see the useful
lists
by
H. J. Leon
in
CW
53
(1960)
174f,
D.
Thompson
n
CW 65
(1971)
121f and J. Granarola
n Lustrum
17
/
1973-74
(1976)
27-70.
232
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Table
1
STRUCTURE
OF
CATULLUS
64
A 1-21
(21)
Prologue:
launching
of
Argo;
Peleus
sees
Thetis;
Jupiter
decides
that
they
m
B
22-30
(10)
Makarismos
of
heroic
age
in
general
and
of
Peleus
in
particular.
C
31-42
(12)
Arrival
of
mortal
guests
bearing
gifts;
abandonment
of
country
for
to
D 43-51
(9)
Luxuriousness
of
palace;
coverlet
on
Thetis'
couch.
E 52-70
(19)
Ariadne
on beach
of
Dia,
staring
after
departed
Theseus
in
F 71-123 (53) Flashback: Theseus' expedition to Crete and abandonme
G 124-201
(78)
Set
speech
addressed
to
Theseus.
Ariadne's
querell
H
202-211
(10)
Jupiter
ntervenes.
Curse
fulfilled;
Theseus
forg
g
212-37
(26)
Set
speech
addressed
to
Theseus.
Aegeus'
querellae
f 238-248
(11)
Flashforward:
Theseus
returns
to
Athens
mente
immem
e
249-264
(16)
Ariadne
on
beach.
Approach
of
Dionysus
and
Bacchae.
d 265-266
(2)
Coverlet.
c
267-302
(36)
Departure
of
mortal
guests.
Arrival
of
immortal
guests
bearing
rus
b
303-381
(79)
Makarismos
of
Peleus
sung by
the
Fates.
a
382-408
(27)
Epilogue:
formerly
the
gods
mingled
with mortals,
but
man's sinfulness
h
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Table 2
VERBAL
ECHOES
IN
CORRESPONDING
SECTIONS
O
A
Prologue
1
quondam
5
avertere1
11 imbuit2
16f
(haud)
alia
viderunt uce
marinas
. .
.
Nymphas
B
Makarismos
25f
teque
adeo eximie2
taedis felicibus
aucte,
Thessaliae columen
Peleu,
cui
luppiter
ipse
. . .
C
Arrival of
Guests
34
dona2
ferunt
prae
se
35
linquunt
Phthiotica
Tempe1
D
Coverlet
47 pulvinarl 50 vestis . . . variatafiguris
E
Ariadne on Beach
52f
prospectans1
.. cedentem2
61
ut
effigies
bacchantis'
F
Theseus
71 assiduis2
. .
.
luctibus
73f
ferox2
. . .
Theseus
. . .
egressus
81f
corpus
.
. .
proicere
86
simul ac
. . .
conspexit
105ff wind
/
mountain-top
imile;
flamine
123 immemori. . .
pectore
G
Ariadne's
Speech
130,
195
querellis,2
querellas2
181
respersum
.
. .
caede
188
non
. .
.
languescent
lumina
morte
199
nostrum .
.
luctum
1wordnot found
elsewhere in
Catullus
a
E
382
quondam
406
avertere'
397 est imbuta
408
nec
se
cont
b
323f
o decus exi
Emathiae
t
c
D
279
portans
silv
286f
Tempel
...
d C
266 pulvinar1
e A
249
prospectan
255 bacchantes'
f
T
242 in
assiduos
246f
ingressus
.
244
praecipite
243
cum
primu
239f
wind
/
mou
248 mente imm
g
A
223
querellas2
230
respergas1
s
219f
languida
no
226
nostros
.
.
.
2wor
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RING-COMPOSITION
N
CATULLUS
4
235
embroidered
on the coverlet are described. The abandonedAriadnewith the
departing
Theseus
and/or
he
approaching
Dionysus
was a favorite
subject
for
Hellenistic
and Roman
artists,
but whether we are to think of a
tripartite
composition,as T. B. L. Webstersuggests, with Ariadne n the centerflanked
on
either
side
by
Theseus'
departing hip
and
Dionysus
andhis
entourage,
or of
two
discrete
pictures
is
perhaps
insoluble.3
The two sections
are also
very
similar
in
structure.
In E
after
describing
briefly
the incredulous
Ariadne
and
the
hastily departing
Theseus
Catullus
concentrates
on the
details
of
Ariadne's
Bacchic
disarray.
In
e after
a
brief reference
to
Ariadne
gazing
out
to
sea4
and to
Iacchus
quickly
advancing
owardsher he concentrates
on
the activities
of the
Bacchic thiasos.
Anaphora
f the first word n threesuccessivelines
(non
63-65 and
pars
257-259)
is used to
catalogue
the Bacchic features of
each
section
and to
heighten
the emotional tone.
Both sections climax and close five
lines after the end of the catalogue. The closing lines are unusuallyhighly-
wrought,
brilliantlyevoking
in E
the
impassioned desperation
of
Ariadne:
illa
vicem curans toto ex te
pectore,
Theseu,
toto
animo,
tota
pendebat
perdita
mente.
(69-70)
and
in
e
the
ominous
cacophony
of
the
approaching
hiasos:5
multis
raucisonos efflabant
cornua
bombos
barbaraque
orribili
stridebat
ibia
cantu.
(263-264)
Sections
F
(71-123)
and
f
(238-248)
seem
atfirst
sight
a
disparate
pair.
F is
53
lines
long
and
f
a
mere
11.
However,
both are
narrative ections
relating
he
expedition
of
Theseus,
and both are
removed
in
time
from
the beach
scene
on
Dia, F
being
a flashback and f a flashforward. In both sections the central
incident
is
the
fateful
sighting
of
Theseus,
Ariadne's first
(simul
ac
.
. .
conspexit
86),
and
Aegeus'
last
(cum
primum
..
conspexit
243),
andthe
tragic
effect
this has on their
lives-hopeless
infatuation or
Ariadne
and
suicide
for
Aegeus.
These sections are
also
particularly
ich
in
verbalechoes. In
Fferox
....
Theseus
(73)
sets
out from
Athens
(egressus
74);
in
fferox
Theseus
(247)
returns
(ingressus
246).
Both
end
with a
reference to
Theseus'
immemor
mens.
In
F
he leaves Dia immemori
ectore
(123),
and
in f
he returns o
Athens
mente immemori
(248).
Finally,
the
striking
use
of
proicere
in
the
phrase
Catullus
chooses
to
describe Theseus' willingness to sacrifice himself for his
city, ipse
suum
pro
caris
corpus
Athenis
/
proicere optavit
(81f),
seems
intended
to
foreshadow
Aegeus'
suicide:
praecipitem
sese
scopulorum
e
vertice
iecit
(244).
Sections
G
(124-201)
and
g
(212-237)
have the
obvious
formal
connection
that
they
are both
set
speeches.
Moreover,
they
are
both
addressed
o
Theseus
as
he
departs
by ship by
speakers
who
are
inked
by
their
overmastering
ove
for
him. In
structure,
both
speeches
are
essentially bipartite,
Ariadne's
consisting
3Webster,
The
Myth
of
Ariadne from
Homer to
Catullus,
G&R
13
(1966)
22-31. For
reproductions
f these
scenes
see the
platesappended
o
Webster's
article
and
the useful
collection
of
drawings
n S.
Reinach,
Repertoire
dePeintures
Grecques
et Romaines
(Paris
1922)
111-113.
4The
repetition
here of
prospectans
cedentem from lines
52f is a
particularly
triking
verbal
echo.
5For
he
threatening
natureof
these
lines
see Curran
infra
n.
14)
180.
For
Ariadne's
error t the
approach
of
the thiasos cf.
Ovid
AA
1.539f:
excidit
illa
metu
rupitque
novissima
verba;
/
nullus in
exanimi
corpore
sanguis
erat.
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236
DAVID A.
TRAILL
of
querellae
(132-187)
and
an
exsecratio
(188-201),
Aegeus'
of
querellae
(215-227)
and mandata
228-237).
The
exsecratio and
mandata
are crucial o
the
development
of the
plot.
Their mutual
incompatibility
s
resolved
at
the
centerof thepoemby theintervention f Jupiter.Thesesimilarities nform and
structureare
strengthened
by
several verbal
echoes.
First,
both
speakers
specifically
use
the
word
querellae
of their
complaints
195
and
223);6
Catullus
also
uses the word
n
the narrative
ntroducing
Ariadne's
speech
(130).
Second,
the
phrase
that
Aegeus
chooses
to
refer,
in
anticipation,
to
Theseus'
victory
over
the
Minotaur,
ut
tauri
respergassanguine
dextram
230),
seems
intended
to recall
Ariadne's
respersum
iuvenem
raterna
caede
(181).
Finally,
key
elements of the two
sections,
Ariadne's
call for
vengeance
and
Aegeus'
decision
to hoist
black
sails on Theseus'
ship,
are
prompted
by
the same
motive,
namely,
that
he
speaker'sgrief
shouldnot
go
unnoticed:
vos nolite
pati
nostrum vanescere luctum (199) and nostros ut luctus nostraequeincendia
mentis
/
carbasus
obscurata dicet
ferrugine
Hibera
(226f).
The
central
section
H
(202-211)
describes
the
intervention
of
Jupiter
in
response
to
Ariadne's
prayer
or
vengeance
and
the effect of this
intervention
on
Theseus.
Kinsey
observes:
Jupiter's
assentto
Ariadne's
prayer
s
described
(204-206)
with
great
pomp:
annuit nvicto
caelestem
numine rector
quo
motu tellus
atque
horrida
contremuerunt
aequora
concussitque
micantia
sidera
mundus.
The
idea of
these
lines
is
not
original
but
t
does
not
appear
o occur
elsewhere
at
suchlengthnorin suchexaggerated orm.' 7Kinsey goes onto suggestthat he
grandiloquent
one
may
be
ironic,
but
this is
to
underestimate
he
pivotal
nature
of
these
lines.
Jupiter's
nod
of
assent
in line 204 marks he
turning-point
n
the
story
of
Theseus
and
Ariadne.
Theseus'
immemor
mens,
which
has
caused
Ariadne
so
much
anguish,
is
now turned
against
himself andhis
family.
It
is
perhaps
not
a
coincidence
that line
204 is the exact
midpoint
of the
poem.8
Jupiter's
ntervention
s flanked
by
references
to
Ariadne's
call for
vengeance
(203)
and
Aegeus'
mandata,
which link
the
center
o
the
adjacent peeches.
In
much
the same
way
in
poem
68
the
short sections
on
the Greek
expedition
to
Troy
which
flank
the central
section,
Catullus'
ament
for
his
brother,
ink the
center
to
the Laodamia
sections.'
If
we now
return
o the coverlet
sections
and
move towards
he
beginning
and
end
of
the
poem,
we
first
encounter
wo sections
on the
wedding
guests,
C
(31-
42)
and c
(267-302),
then
two sections
addressed o
Peleus,
B
(22-30)
and
b
(303-381),
and
finally
the
prologue,
A
(1-21),
and
epilogue,
a
(382-408).
There is
a certain
mbalance
between
section
C
(31-42)
and
section c
(267-
302),
for
while C describes
merely
the
arrival
of the mortal
guests,
c
describes
both
the
departure
f
the
mortals
and the arrival
of
the
immortals.
However,
the
similarity
n
subject
matter
between
the two
sections
makes
their
correspon-
dence
self-evident.
Moreover,
lines
38-42
in
C
describing
the
abandoned
6Note
also
the use ot
conquerar
(164)
and
nostris
questibus
(170).
7T. E.
Kinsev.
Irony
and Structure
n Catullus
64,
Latomus
24
(1965)
921f.
I
include
lines
23b and 378
in
the
reckoning.
See Kroll's scheme
(p.
219).
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RING-COMPOSITION
N CATULLUS 4 237
countryside
createan
expectation
hatthe mortalswill
return o the
country
and
hence
can be
regarded
as
anticipating,
and to that extent
balancing,
the
departure
f the mortal
guests.
The
refreshing
simile that
occupies
most
of
the
spacedevoted to the departure f the mortals n c providesa welcome contrast
to
the
jarring
picture
of the
revelling
bacchanals
254-264)
and this must be at
least
part
of the reason
for the inclusion of this
passage.
Both
C
and
c mention
where the different
guests
have come from and
refer
to the
gifts
they
bring.
Both sections
use
the
rhetoricaldevice of the list.
In
C
the lists
are of the
places
and activities which the mortal
guests
have left behind.
In
c
the
gifts broughtby
the immortalsare
listed.
The
disparity
in
length
between
sections
B
(22-30)
and
b
(303-381)
is
enormous,
but
the
links in
subject
matter, orm,
and
language
are
compelling.
In both
sections Peleus
himself
is addressedand
his
felicity
extolled.
Quinn
rightlyuses the term makarismosof both sections.10The first two lines of the
two
addresses
to Peleus are
remarkably
imilar in
vocabulary
and
phrasing:
teque
adeo
eximie taedis felicibus
aucte,
Thessaliae columen
Peleu,
cui
luppiter
ipse
.
.
.
(25f)
and
o decus eximium
magnis
virtutibus
augens,
Emathiae
tutamen,
Opis
carissime nato
. . .
(323f)
The conclusion that the
second address is intended to
recall the first
seems
inevitable.
However,
in
view
of
the fact
that he
second
makarismos
s
so
much
more
mportant
han he
first,
it
would
perhaps
be nearer he mark o
say
that
he
first,
which in
any
case
presents
a somewhat runcated
ppearance,
s intended
to
anticipate
the
second.
Sections
A
(1-21)
and
a
(382-408)
form
the
poem's
prologue
and
epilogue.
In
both sections
Catullusdwells
on divine
participation
n
human
affairs.
He
emphasises
he
personal
natureof that
participation y
what
Kinsey
refers o as
the awed
ipsa
in 9
and
ipse
in
21 1'
and
by praesentes
in
384
and
praesens
in
396. There
is
an antithesis
n
both sections between the
past (quondam
I
and
382),
when the
gods mingled
with
mortals,
and the
present,
when
they
shun
their
company
and
sight:
quarenec talis dignanturvisere coetus
nec se
contingi
patiuntur
umine claro.
(407f)
This
antithesis
s
the
dominant heme of the
epilogue,
but s
less
conspicuous
n
the
prologue.
Nevertheless,
he
antithesis
s
felt
there
oo,
for
quondam
points
as
much
to
the culturalas to
the
temporalgap
between
the events described
andthe
present.
In
much the
same
way
as our once
upon
a
time,
it
seems both
wistful
and
slightly
condescending.
It
prepares
the reader for an
ethos far
removed from
that of
his
own
day.
Dicuntur
(2)
is a
further
ecognition
of
the
distance between the world of
Greek
mythology
and
the
stark
realities of
contemporary
Rome.
Also,
the total
withdrawalof the
gods
in
the
epilogue
(407f) is presaged in the prologue, where the Nereids emerge to gaze in
1oQuinn
alls
only
lines
334-336
a
makarismos,
but
the term can
be
applied
to
the
whole
song,
as
the
impending
birth
of Achilles is to
be seen as
the
culminationof Peleus'
felicitas.
Catullus
practically
abels
the
song
a
makarismos n
line 382: talia
praefantes
quondam elicia
Pelei.
Kinsey (supra
n.
7)
915.
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238 DAVID
A.
TRAILL
astonishment
at
the monstrum
15)
intruding
on their domain
and are seen
by
mortal
eyes
for the
first
and last
time: illa
atque
(haud)
alia
die
(16).
The verbs
avertere
(5
and
406)
and imbuere
(11
and
397)
are
found
in
the
prologue
and
epilogue
and nowhere
else in
the
poem.
In
fact,
averteredoes
not
occur
elsewhere
n
Catullus,
and
imbuere
only
once.12
Moreover,
he verbs
are
used each
time in a
significant
context.
They
describe
the
quest
of the
Argonauts,
the
launching
of the
Argo,
the onset of
man's
sinfulness,
and
his
alienation of
the
gods.
In
the
prologue
both
verbs
are used
with
a
touch of
flamboyance.
Avertere
(5)
with
the
meaning
and,
essentially,
the tone of to
steal
is a
strangely
hostile word to
use
of
the
Argonauts'
quest.'3
Imbuit
(11),
as
Curran
notes,14
s an
example
of Alexandrian
wit.
The
ship
initiates
the
sea
with
her
passage,
but,
in
the literal sense of the
word,
it is
the
ship,
not the
sea,
that
becomes imbuta. The recurrence f these
verbs n
the
epilogue
may
be
sheercoincidence,butprobability ndCatullus'practiceelsewhere nthepoem
argue against
such
an
assumption.
By
repeating
imbuere
in
the
epilogue
Catullus s
perhaps
uggesting
that
the
launching
of
the
Argo
marked
he onset
of man's sinfulness.
Certainly,
in
the fourth
eclogue,
which
bears
unmistakable
traces of
indebtedness
to Catullus
64,
Virgil
refers to
the
launching
of the
Argo
in
just
those terms:
pauca
tamen suberunt
priscae vestigia
fraudis
quae temptare
Thetin
ratibus,
quae
cingere
muris
oppida, quae
iubeant
telluri infindere sulcos.
alter erit
tum
Tiphys
et altera
quae
vehat
Argo
delectos heroas. (31-35)
Similarly,
the
repetition
of avertere
in
the
epilogue
may
be intended o
indicate
that the
quest
of
the
Argonauts
hould be
classed
among
those sinful acts that
have
alienated the
gods
from
participation
n
human affairs.
To
conclude
this examinationof
the
correspondences
etween
the
sections,
I
would
like to comment on
certain
passages
which
appear
to have no
real
parallels
n
theirrelated
sections.
These
passages
are: the address o
the
heroic
age
in
general
(22-24);
the
description
of the
palace
(43-46);
the
description
of
12At
4.17 it
is
also used of
a
ship's launching.
13In
the
overwhelming
majority
of the
passages
cited
in TLL
s.v.
II)
the tone is
disparaging.
In
military
contexts,
however,
wherethe
party
robbed
s the
enemy,
the verb
can be
used
without
any
apparent
mputation
of
wrongdoing.
After
all,
stealing
from the
enemy
is
morally acceptable.
However,
at
the outset
of the
Argonautic
xpedition
the
Colchians
are not
regarded
as the
enemy.
Nor do
the
Argonauts
ntend to resort
to
the
surreptitious
actics
that
the verb
avertere seems to
imply.
The verb
describes
with
reasonable
accuracy
he manner
n which
the
Argonauts
inally
won
the
fleece,
but when
applied
o theirmotives at the
outset,
it casts their
expedition
n an unfavorable
light.
In
a
poem
celebrating
he
marriage
f one
of the
Argonauts
one
might
have
expected
a neutral
verb,
such as
recipere,
repetere
or
the like.
There
can
be little
doubt
hatCatulluschose
avertere
to
translate
Ennius'
per
dolum:
vecti
petebantpellem
inauratamarietis
Colchis imperio regis Peliae per dolum. (213f Jocelyn)
The
Medea,
however,
is
a
tragedy,
not an
epic,
and the
summary
ccountof the
Argonauts'
voyage
is
given
by
Medea's
very partial
nurse.
That Catullus chose
to
reproduce
n
the
traditionally
objective
context
of
epic
narrative he
bias inherent
n
per
dolum
seems to indicate a
similarly
hostile attitude
o the
Argonauticexpedition
on
the
part
of the narrator.
14L.
C.
Curran,
Catullus
64
and
the
Heroic
Age,
YCS
21
(1969)
176.
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RING-COMPOSITIONN CATULLUS 4 239
Ariadne hat
precedes
her
speech
(124-131);
the Fates at their
work
(303-322).
I
have
dealt with the
departure
f the mortal
guests
in the
discussion of
C
and
c
above. The
remaining passages
are
all
clearly prefatory
in
function. The
address o the heroesandthedescriptionof thepalace present he largerwhole
from
which
the item
on which
the
poet
wishes to
concentrate
s
selected.
In the
terminology
made famous
by Bundy's
work on
Pindar,15
hey
are foil
for
the
climactic
topic.
That is to
say, they
are not
topics
in
themselves,
but
rather
means of
introducing opics. They
also serve to set the
selected
topics
in a
suitablecontext. The address o
the heroes enhances he
dignity
of
Peleus,
and
the
description
of
its
setting
adds to
the
beauty
and
luxuriousness of
the
coverlet. The
prefatory
passages
on
Ariadne
and the
Fates
are somewhat
different
in
that
they
do not
present
the
larger
whole from which a
topic
is
selected.
Their
function s
to introduce
he
extended
passages
of
direct
speech
which constitute the two showpieces of the poem, Ariadne's lament and the
song
of
the Fates. Both
speeches
deserve and
indeed
require
some
form
of
introductionto set them off. Besides
fulfilling
the
function
of
prefaces,
however,
the two
descriptive
passages
are linked
organically
o the
speeches.
After
the
digression
on the
expedition
of Theseus Catullus
could
hardly
aunch
into
Ariadne's
speech
without
attempting
o
recreate
he
emotional
atmosphere
of lines
60-70.
The
baroquedescription
of
Ariadne's
grief
in
lines 124-131
effectively
creates
the
mood which the
highly-charged peech
requires.
In
the
case
of the
Fates,
the
description
of their work
gives
life to
the refrainthat
punctuates
heir
song,
currite
ducentes
subtegmina, curritefusi,
and reminds
us of their
preeminent
qualifications
or
giving
Peleus an accurateaccount of
his future.
How
does
recognition
of
the
ringed
structure ffect our
understanding
f
the
poem?
It
brings
us
no
nearer o a definitive answer
to
such
difficult
questions
as:
What
is the
significance
of the inner
story
to
the
wedding
of Peleus and
Thetis? What
is
Catullus' attitudeto the heroic
age?
How
did he
expect
his
audience
to
react
to the
Fates'
picture
of Achilles?
It
does,
however,
resolve
some
puzzles.
For
instance,
the convoluted
chronology
of
the
inner
story
is
clearly
the
result of
Catullus'
rearranging
f the
elements
of
the
story
to fit his
ringedstructure.Moreover,certainof the details and emphasesin Catullus'
telling
of
the
story
are due to his
attempts
to create
similarities between
corresponding
ections.
Thus
in
E
we
see
Ariadne's
young
(iuvenis
58)
mortal
lover
rapidlydeparting
fugiens
58)
cum
classe
(53)
and
n
e her
young
(florens
251)
immortal lover
rapidly
approaching
volitabat
251)
cum
thiaso
(252).
Again,
as
Ariadne
n E
yearns
for one who has
no
thoughts
or
her,
so
Bacchus
in
e
yearns
for
Ariadne,
who has no
thoughts
for
him. In
both
passages
anaphora
and
apostrophe
are used
to
heighten
the
emotion:
toto
ex te
pectore,
Theseu,
/
toto
animo,
tota
pendebat
perdita
mente
(69f);
te
quaerens,
Ariadna
tuoque
ncensus amore
(253).
Finally,
when Catullus
compares
Ariadne
o the
statueof a Bacchanal,he is clearly foreshadowingthe Dionysiac thiasos in e
and her imminent
destiny
to become the bride of Bacchus.
The same
tendencies,
though
ess
conspicuous,
are
discernible
n Ff and
Gg.
For
instance,
in F
the
disproportionate
mphasis
placed
on
Ariadne's first
15E.
Bundy,
Studia
Pindarica
I,
UnivCalPubCIPhil
18
(1962)
no.
1,
p.
5
et
passim.
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240
DAVID
A.
TRAILL
sighting
of
Theseus,
to which
everything preceding
and
following
in
that
section
is
subordinated,16
s
explainedby
Catullus'desire
to
make the
episode
at
Knossos
as
similar
as
possible
to the
tragedy
at
Athens. Thus
just
as
Ariadne'ssightingof Theseusensured throughhersacrificeson his behalf)his
victory
over the
Minotaur,17
o
Aegeus'
sighting
of Theseus'
ship
brought
on
the old
man's
suicide.
Theseus'
slaying
of the Minotaurand his
forgetting
of
his
father's nstructions
are the most
glorious
and
ignominious
episodes
in his
career. Catullus invites
us to
connect
them
by
comparing
them both
to the
actionof
wind on a
mountain-top-a
violent wind
in
F,
a
gentle
one
in
f.
In
G
and
g
Catullushas contrived o
emphasize
he
correspondence
etween the two
sections
by casting
both
speeches
in
the form of
propemptica.18
n
G
Ariadne'
querellae,
a traditional
eature
of the
genre,19
re
naturally
based
on her
over's
violation of
fides,
as
is usual
in
propemptica.20
To
correspond
o this
Catullus
hasAegeus indulge n querellaebased on his sorrowatbeingforced to sendhis
newly-found
son off
on
a
dangerous
mission.21 Like Dido's
speeches
to
Aeneas,
which
Cairns
discusses,22
Ariadne's
propempticon
s,
of
course,
an
example
of the inverse
type.
Hence a
curse takes the
place
of the
usual
good
wishes.
Aegeus' propempticon
s that
of
a
superior
o
an inferior.
Hence the
inclusion of the
mandatawhich the
story requires
s
genericallyappropriate.23
It
is
Ariadne's
curse
and
Aegeus'
mandata
that connect the fates
of
Ariadne
and
Aegeus through
Theseus' immemormens. The final link
in
the
symmetry
s
forged
by
the
intervention
of
Jupiter
at the centerof the
poem.
The effect
of
Theseus'
immemor
mens
on Ariadne
is seen
in F
(122f)
and
on
Aegeus
(241-245).
While
much
of the material f the outer
story
ends itself
readily
o
a structure
of
ring-composition,
his is not
true of the
epithalamium.
Catullus
appears
o
have
regarded
he
epithalamium
s
almost the raison
d'
tre for the
poem
and,
logically,
has
placed
it
in
the
climactic
position just
before the
epilogue.
Understandably
e
did
not
want
to weaken its
impact
by
splitting
it
over two
widely
separated
egments.
Besides,
it
would
make
no sense to
place part
of the
epithalamium
efore the
arrival
of the
guests.
Catullushas solved this
problem
by
casting
the
epithalamium
n
the form
of
a
makarismos
of
Peleus
and
16The
preceding
lines
explain
how the fateful
meeting
came
about.
Theseus'
victory
over
the
Minotaur s
seen
as
dependent
on
Ariadne's vows on his
behalf
(103-111).
7Nam
105)
clearly
introduces
he
slaying
of
the
Minotaur
as
proof
of the
efficacy
of
Ariadne's
prayers.
18See
he
useful
description
of the
propempticon
n F.
Cairns,
Generic
Composition
n
Greekand
Roman
Poetry
(Edinburgh
1971)
6: .
..
the
primary
elements
of the
propemptikon
are
.
. .
someone
departing,
another
person bidding
him
farewell,
and a
relationship
of
affection
between
the
two,
plus
an
appropriate etting.
19Cairns
supra
n.
18)
believes
that
querellae
is the
Latin
rendering
f the Greek
schetliasmos
(p.
12).
20See
Cairns
(supra
n.
18)
12.
21These
querellae
are
partly expressed
in
such
phrases
as
eripit
invito mihi te
(219)
and
nondum
lumina
sunt
gnati
cara
saturata
igura
(219f)
and
partly
hinted
at in
multas
expromam
mente
querellas
(223).
22Cairns
supra
n.
18)
131-135.
23A
superior
bidding
arewell to an
inferior
might normally
nclude
advice in
his
propempticon.
See Cairns
(supra
n.
18)
9
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RING-COMPOSITION
IN
CATULLUS
64 241
incorporating
brief,
anticipatory
makarismos
of Peleus after
the
prologue.
In
this
earlier makarismos he
draws
his
praise
of
Peleus
from
topics
of
the
betrothal.
In
this
way
Catullus
provides
a
corresponding
section
for the
epithalamium hat is consistentwith the orderlydevelopmentof the wedding
ceremonies.
In
a
forthcoming
article
t will be
shown
that
he centerof
Catullus
63,
whose
ringed
structure
has
already
been
pointed
out
by
E.
Schiifer,24
s
the
short
passage
on Sun
and
Sleep
(38-42).25
When
poems
63 and 64
are
compared,
they
are
found
to have
remarkably
similar centers.
In
both
poems
a
meteorological
change
of the
megacosmos
brings
about
a
sympathetic
eaction
in
the
microcosmos
ot the
hero's
mens. Thus
just
as in 64
Jupiter's
hundrous
nod
that
shakes
the universe
(204-206)
clouds Theseus'
mens
(207f),
so
in
63
the
Sun's beams
that
bring ight
to the universe
(40)
clear
Attis'
mens,
enabling
him to see wherehe is andwhathe has lost (46). Thischangeof mens is pivotal
to both
the
Attis
and the
Ariadne-Theseus
tories.
The
use
of
ring-composition
in
these two
poems
and the
similarity
of
their
centers raises
a
host
of
questions
about Catullus'
religious
and
philosophical
views,
narrative
echnique,
and
indebtedness
to Hellenistic
antecedents,
which lie
beyond
the
scope
of
this
paper.
DAVID
A.
TRAILL
University
of California,
Davis
24E.
Schgfer,
Das
Verhdiltnis
om Erlebnis
und
Kunstgestalt
bei
Catull,
Hermes
Einzelschr.
18
(Wiesbaden
1966)
101.
25My
article,
Catullus
63:
Rings
around
he
Sun,
will
appear
n a
forthcoming
ssue of CP.
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