Carmen XLII: On a Strumpet Who Stole His Tablets
Come, Hendecasyllabics, many as mayAll hither, every one that of you be!That fulsome harlot makes me laughing-stockAnd she refuses at our prayer restoreOur stolen Note-books, an such slights ye bear.Let us pursue her clamouring our demands."Who's she?" ye question: yonder one ye sightMincingly pacing mime-like, perfect pest,With jaws wide grinning like a Gallic pup.Stand all round her dunning with demands,"Return (O rotten whore!) our noting books.Our noting books (O rotten whore!) return!"No doit thou car'st? O Mire! O Stuff o' stews!Or if aught fouler filthier dirt there be.Yet must we never think these words suffice.But if naught else avail, at least a blushForth of that bitch-like brazen brow we'll squeeze.Cry all together in a higher key"Restore (O rotten whore!) our noting books,Our noting books (O rotten whore!) restore!"Still naught avails us, nothing is she moved.Now must our measures and our modes be changedAn we would anywise our cause advance."Restore (chaste, honest Maid!) our noting books!"
Words in this poem
- fulsome a.
- Full; abundant; plenteous; not shriveled. [Full, a. + -some.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- mincingly adv.
- In a mincing manner; not fully; with affected nicety.
- pest n.
- A fatal epidemic disease; a pestilence; specif., the plague. [L. pestis: cf. F. peste.]
- whore n.
- A woman who practices unlawful sexual commerce with men, especially one who prostitutes her body for hire; a prostitute; a harlot. Wyclif. [OE. hore, AS. h; akin to D. hoer, hoere, G. hure, OHG. huora, huorra, Icel. h, Dan. hore, Sw. hora, Goth. h an adulterer, AS. h adultery, OHG. huor, and probabl]
- doit n.
- A small Dutch coin, worth about half a farthing; also, a similar small coin once used in Scotland; hence, any small piece of money. [D. duit, Icel. pveit, prop., a piece cut off. See Thwaite a piece of ground, Thwite.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- suffice v. i.
- To be enough, or sufficient; to meet the need (of anything); to be equal to the end proposed; to be adequate. [OE. suffisen, OF. soufire, F. suffire (cf. suffisant, p.pr.), L. sufficere to put under, to substitute, to avail for, to suffice; sub under + facere to make. Se]
- anywise adv.
- In any wise or way; at all.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Carmen XLII: On a Strumpet Who Stole His Tablets 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 XLII: On a Strumpet Who Stole His Tablets, in The Carmina (1894), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #20732, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/catullus-carmina/carmen-xlii-on-a-strumpet-who-stole-his-tablets.html, id L13825.
Form and metre
Carmen XLII: On a Strumpet Who Stole His Tablets is 24 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 29% 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-B-C---CD--A---ADB---D may · beA · stock · restoreB · bear · demandsC · sight · pest · pup · demandsC · booksD · return · stews · beA · suffice · blush · squeeze · keyA · booksD · restoreB · moved · changed · advance · booksD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Come, Hendecasyllabics, many as may | 10 | ·······/·· |
| All hither, every one that of you be! | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| That fulsome harlot makes me laughing-stock | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And she refuses at our prayer restore | 10 | ··˘/˘·/·˘/ |
| Our stolen Note-books, an such slights ye bear. | 10 | //˘······· |
| Let us pursue her clamouring our demands. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘/ |
| "Who's she?" ye question: yonder one ye sight | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Mincingly pacing mime-like, perfect pest, | 10 | /˘˘/˘··/·· |
| With jaws wide grinning like a Gallic pup. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Stand all round her dunning with demands, | 9 | ····/˘·˘/ |
| "Return (O rotten whore!) our noting books. | 10 | ˘/·/˘·//˘· |
| Our noting books (O rotten whore!) return!" | 10 | //˘··/˘·˘/ |
| No doit thou car'st? O Mire! O Stuff o' stews! | 10 | ·········· |
| Or if aught fouler filthier dirt there be. | 10 | ·········· |
| Yet must we never think these words suffice. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| But if naught else avail, at least a blush | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Forth of that bitch-like brazen brow we'll squeeze. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Cry all together in a higher key | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| "Restore (O rotten whore!) our noting books, | 10 | ˘/·/˘·//˘· |
| Our noting books (O rotten whore!) restore!" | 10 | //˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Still naught avails us, nothing is she moved. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Now must our measures and our modes be changed | 10 | ··//˘·/··· |
| An we would anywise our cause advance. | 10 | ···/˘˘/·˘/ |
| "Restore (chaste, honest Maid!) our noting books!" | 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.