Ava Ratcliff L&S Arts & Humanities
At Parte Ex Alia: Reading Internal Transformations in Catullus 64
My research is on Catullus 64, a Latin epyllion, or “little epic poem.” Most people know it as a major inspiration for Virgil’s Aeneid. However, while Catullus 64 follows follows epic conventions of meter and theme, it is much shorter than poems like the Aeneid– barely 400 lines! Catullus 64 is further unique because over half of the poem is an ekphrasis, or vivid description, usually of art, and in this case of a woven bedspread. The most extensive part of this ekphrasis is a speech by Ariadne, the Minoan princess and sister to the Minotaur. Among other things, I hope to investigate the relationship between this material ekphrasis and the immaterial yet extensive speech of characters like Ariadne.
Already, many scholars have posed convincing intertextual readings of this poem, focusing on Catullus’ allusions to works such as Argonautica, Medea, The Iliad, and more. My research instead moves “intratextually” and asks how we can understand Catullus 64 as an independent object which articulates a self-contained value system and goals. I will primarily focus on a formal analysis of how structural, syntactic, and rhythmic elements shape our understanding of the poem as a whole.
Message To Sponsor
Thank you for supporting my research this summer! I am so grateful for the opportunity to deeply immerse myself in Catullus 64 before I begin working on an Honors Thesis in AGRS this fall. I first discovered my love of Latin poetry during Berkeley's Latin Workshop the summer after my freshman year. Now, as I finish my junior year, I am incredibly excited to return to a summer of Latin exploration and contemplation.