Sappho and Catullus: Sexual Politics

And how should we read Catullus' in turn? The most obvious difference is that Catullus transforms Sappho's homoerotic poem into a heterosexual one - the object of desire is still a woman but the poetic vision is now male, not female. Where Sappho begins her poem with phainetai moi ('it seems to me'), Catullus swings round the emphasis to 'ille' - that man - making the poem far more definite, less illusory, focused not so much on the generic symptoms of desire but the poet's own jealousy and wish to supplant his rival in Lesbia's affections. For this reason, scholars often argue that this is the first poem Catullus sent Lesbia/ Clodia, a declaration of love intended to win her over. There are other more subtle differences. In Sappho, the man only listens ( upakouei ) to the woman; in Catullus the man also 'spectat' 'looks at' - the woman. Again, in Sappho, the woman laughs and speaks. In Catullus' version she is permitted only laughter. Can translators convey anything of the subtleties of these changes? In my version, for instance, I emphasised the new voyeuristic force of spectat by translating it 'peers at'. Compare Sisson's 'yet repeatedly/ looks at you' or Whigham's 'watches you'.

How do you see Catullus' reading of Sappho's poem?

Post your comments on the Discussion Boards.

Read more... From the Classical to the Modern World

Top of page

Back to previous page