Between Learnedness and Performance
Catullus and the Tradition of Iambic Poetry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12797/CC.28.2025.28.03Keywords:
Catullus, Neoteric poetry, Iambic tradition, Literary invective, PerformativityAbstract
As a key figure in neoteric poetry, Catullus is known for his finely crafted, allusive poems influenced by Alexandrian aesthetics. However, the Greek archaic tradition, particularly iambic poetry, also played a significant role in shaping his work. Although only a few of his poems use iambic meter, the aggressive, satirical spirit of iambic poetry permeates much of his corpus. This tradition, rooted in ritual practices and social settings such as the cult of Demeter and Dionysus or symposia, centered on the sharp condemnation of misconduct within a shared moral community. The paper investigates whether some of Catullus’s invective poems might have been intended for similar performative contexts. It is structured in three parts: 1) an overview of iambic poetry’s origins and ritual associations; 2) an analysis of selected Catullan poems; and 3) a comparison of Catullus’s invective with archaic models, focusing on targets of criticism, performance contexts, and their implications.
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