Carmen XXXVII: To the Frequenters of a Low Tavern
Salacious Tavern and ye taverner-host,From Pileate Brothers the ninth pile-post,D'ye claim, you only of the mentule boast,D'ye claim alone what damsels be the bestTo swive: as he-goats holding all the rest?Is't when like boobies sit ye incontinent here,One or two hundred, deem ye that I fearTwo hundred ---- at one brunt?Ay, think so, natheless all your tavern-frontWith many a scorpion I will over-write.For that my damsel, fro' my breast took flight,By me so loved, as shall loved be none,Wherefor so mighty wars were waged and won,Does sit in public here. Ye fain, rich wights,All woo her: thither too (the chief of slights!)All pitiful knaves and by-street wenchers fare,And thou, (than any worse), with hanging hair,In coney-breeding Celtiberia bred,Egnatius! bonnified by beard full-fed,And teeth with Spanish urine polished.
Words in this poem
- salacious n.
- Having a propensity to venery; lustful; lecherous. [L. salax, -acis, fond of leaping, lustful, fr. salire to leap. See Salient.]
- pileate a.
- Having the form of a cap for the head. [L. pileatus, fr. pileus a felt cap or hat.]
- swive v. t.
- To copulate with (a woman). [OE. swiven, fr. AS. swifan. See Swivel.]
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- brunt n.
- The heat, or utmost violence, of an onset; the strength or greatest fury of any contention; as, the brunt of a battle. [OE. brunt, bront, fr. Icel. bruna to rush; cf. Icel. brenna to burn. Cf. Burn, v. t.]
- 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]
- 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,]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Carmen XXXVII: To the Frequenters of a Low Tavern 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 XXXVII: To the Frequenters of a Low Tavern, in The Carmina (1894), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #20732, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/catullus-carmina/carmen-xxxvii-to-the-frequenters-of-a-low-tavern.html, id L13820.
Form and metre
Carmen XXXVII: To the Frequenters of a Low Tavern is 20 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 80% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AAABBCCDDEEFF--GGHH- hostA · postA · boastA · bestB · restB · hereC · fearC · bruntD · frontD · writeE · flightE · noneF · wonF · wights · slights · fareG · hairG · bredH · fedH · polished
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Salacious Tavern and ye taverner-host, | 11 | ˘/˘/˘··/˘˘· |
| From Pileate Brothers the ninth pile-post, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| D'ye claim, you only of the mentule boast, | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| D'ye claim alone what damsels be the best | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| To swive: as he-goats holding all the rest? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Is't when like boobies sit ye incontinent here, | 11 | ···/˘··˘/˘· |
| One or two hundred, deem ye that I fear | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Two hundred ---- at one brunt? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Ay, think so, natheless all your tavern-front | 11 | ········/˘· |
| With many a scorpion I will over-write. | 10 | ·/·/˘˘···· |
| For that my damsel, fro' my breast took flight, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| By me so loved, as shall loved be none, | 10 | ····˘····· |
| Wherefor so mighty wars were waged and won, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Does sit in public here. Ye fain, rich wights, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| All woo her: thither too (the chief of slights!) | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| All pitiful knaves and by-street wenchers fare, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And thou, (than any worse), with hanging hair, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| In coney-breeding Celtiberia bred, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Egnatius! bonnified by beard full-fed, | 9 | ········· |
| And teeth with Spanish urine polished. | 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.