Carmen XI: A Parting Insult to Lesbia
Furius and Aurelius, Catullus' friends,Whether extremest Indian shore he brave,Strands where far-resounding billow rendsThe shattered wave,Or 'mid Hyrcanians dwell he, Arabs soft and wild,Sacae and Parthians of the arrow fain,Or where the Seven-mouth'd Nilus mud-defiledTinges the Main,Or climb he lofty Alpine Crest and noteWorks monumental, Caesar's grandeur telling,Rhine Gallic, horrid Ocean and remoteBritons low-dwelling;All these (whatever shall the will designOf Heaven-homed Gods) Oh ye prepared to tempt;Announce your briefest to that damsel mineIn words unkempt:--Live she and love she wenchers several,Embrace three hundred wi' the like requitals,None truly loving and withal of allBursting the vitals:My love regard she not, my love of yore,Which fell through fault of her, as falls the fairLast meadow-floret whenas passed it o'erTouch of the share.
Words in this poem
- billow n.
- A great wave or surge of the sea or other water, caused usually by violent wind. [Cf. Icel. bylgja billow, Dan. bölge, Sw. bölja; akin to MHG. bulge billow, bag, and to E. bulge. See Bulge.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- monumental a.
- Of, pertaining to, or suitable for, a monument; as, a monumental inscription. [L. monumentalis: cf. F. monumental.]
- horrid a.
- Rough; rugged; bristling. [L. horridus. See Horror, and cf. Ordure.]
- 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,]
- 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]
- unkempt a.
- Not combed; disheveled; as, an urchin with unkempt hair. [Pref. un- not + kempt, p. p. of kemb.]
- withal adv.
- With this; with that. [With + all.]
- vitals n.
- Organs that are necessary for life; more especially, the heart, lungs, and brain.
- yore adv.
- In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Carmen XI: A Parting Insult to Lesbia 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 XI: A Parting Insult to Lesbia, in The Carmina (1894), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #20732, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/catullus-carmina/carmen-xi-a-parting-insult-to-lesbia.html, id L13794.
Form and metre
Carmen XI: A Parting Insult to Lesbia is 24 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.6 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 38% 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 ABABCDCDEFEFGHGHIJIJ-K-K friendsA · braveB · rendsA · waveB · wildC · fainD · defiledC · mainD · noteE · tellingF · remoteE · dwellingF · designG · temptH · mineG · unkemptH · severalI · requitalsJ · allI · vitalsJ · yore · fairK · o'er · shareK
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Furius and Aurelius, Catullus' friends, | 10 | ·········· |
| Whether extremest Indian shore he brave, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Strands where far-resounding billow rends | 9 | ···˘/˘/˘· |
| The shattered wave, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Or 'mid Hyrcanians dwell he, Arabs soft and wild, | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| Sacae and Parthians of the arrow fain, | 10 | ··/˘˘··/˘· |
| Or where the Seven-mouth'd Nilus mud-defiled | 10 | ···/······ |
| Tinges the Main, | 3 | ··· |
| Or climb he lofty Alpine Crest and note | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| Works monumental, Caesar's grandeur telling, | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘˘//˘ |
| Rhine Gallic, horrid Ocean and remote | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Britons low-dwelling; | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| All these (whatever shall the will design | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Of Heaven-homed Gods) Oh ye prepared to tempt; | 10 | ·/····˘/·· |
| Announce your briefest to that damsel mine | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| In words unkempt:-- | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Live she and love she wenchers several, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Embrace three hundred wi' the like requitals, | 11 | ˘/·/˘······ |
| None truly loving and withal of all | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Bursting the vitals: | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| My love regard she not, my love of yore, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Which fell through fault of her, as falls the fair | 10 | ·········· |
| Last meadow-floret whenas passed it o'er | 10 | ·/·/˘/˘··· |
| Touch of the share. | 4 | ···· |
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.