Carmen VIII: To Himself Recounting Lesbia's Inconstancy
Woe-full Catullus! cease to play the foolAnd what thou seest dead as dead regard!Whilome the sheeniest suns for thee did shineWhen oft-a-tripping whither led the girlBy us beloved, as shall none be loved.There all so merry doings then were doneAfter thy liking, nor the girl was loath.Then certes sheeniest suns for thee did shine.Now she's unwilling: thou too (hapless!) willHer flight to follow, and sad life to live:Endure with stubborn soul and still obdure.Damsel, adieu! Catullus obdurate grownNor seeks thee, neither asks of thine unwill;Yet shalt thou sorrow when none woos thee more;Reprobate! Woe to thee! What life remains?Who now shall love thee? Who'll think thee fair?Whom now shalt ever love? Whose wilt be called?To whom shalt kisses give? whose liplets nip?But thou (Catullus!) destiny-doomed obdure.
Words in this poem
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- loath a.
- Hateful; odious; disliked. [OE. looth, loth, AS. la hostile, odious; akin to OS. l, G. leid, Icel. lei, Sw. led, G. leiden to suffer, OHG. lidan to suffer, go, cf. AS. li to go, Goth. leip]
- certes adv.
- Certainly; in truth; verily. [F. certes, for à certes, fr. L. certus. See Certain.]
- hapless a.
- Without hap or luck; luckless; unfortunate; unlucky; unhappy; as, hapless youth; hapless maid.
- obdure a.
- Obdurate; hard.
- damsel n.
- A young person, either male or female, of noble or gentle extraction; as, Damsel Pepin; Damsel Richard, Prince of Wales. [OE. damosel, damesel, damisel, damsel, fr. OF. damoisele, damisele, gentlewoman, F. demoiselle young lady; cf. OF. damoisel young nobleman, F. damoiseau; fr. LL]
- unwill v. t.
- To annul or reverse by an act of the will. [1st pref. un- + will.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- reprobate a.
- Not enduring proof or trial; not of standard purity or fineness; disallowed; rejected. [L. reprobatus, p. p. of reprobare to disapprove, condemn. See Reprieve, Reprove.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Carmen VIII: To Himself Recounting Lesbia's Inconstancy is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Carmina, Project Gutenberg ebook #20732, the Richard Burton translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Catullus, Carmen VIII: To Himself Recounting Lesbia's Inconstancy, in The Carmina (1894), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #20732, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/catullus-carmina/carmen-viii-to-himself-recounting-lesbia-s-inconstancy.html, id L13791.
Form and metre
Carmen VIII: To Himself Recounting Lesbia's Inconstancy is 19 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 32% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 --A----AB-C-B-----C fool · regard · shineA · girl · loved · done · loath · shineA · willB · live · obdureC · grown · unwillB · more · remains · fair · called · nip · obdureC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Woe-full Catullus! cease to play the fool | 10 | ·········· |
| And what thou seest dead as dead regard! | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Whilome the sheeniest suns for thee did shine | 10 | ·········· |
| When oft-a-tripping whither led the girl | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| By us beloved, as shall none be loved. | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| There all so merry doings then were done | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| After thy liking, nor the girl was loath. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Then certes sheeniest suns for thee did shine. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Now she's unwilling: thou too (hapless!) will | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Her flight to follow, and sad life to live: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Endure with stubborn soul and still obdure. | 10 | ˘/·/˘···˘/ |
| Damsel, adieu! Catullus obdurate grown | 10 | /˘˘/···/˘· |
| Nor seeks thee, neither asks of thine unwill; | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Yet shalt thou sorrow when none woos thee more; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Reprobate! Woe to thee! What life remains? | 10 | /˘˘·····˘/ |
| Who now shall love thee? Who'll think thee fair? | 9 | ········· |
| Whom now shalt ever love? Whose wilt be called? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To whom shalt kisses give? whose liplets nip? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But thou (Catullus!) destiny-doomed obdure. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.