Ring-Composition in Catullus 64

8/10/2019 Ring-Composition in Catullus 64

1/11

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2/11

RING-COMPOSITION

N

CATULLUS

64

It

is

apparent

o

even

the

casual

reader

of Catullus

64

that a

basic

pattern

of

ring-composition

rticulates he

poem:

prologue-guests-coverlet-Ariadne

and

Theseus-coverlet-guests-epilogue.1

However,

if

the

reader,

encour-

aged by

the elaborate

example

of

Catullus

68,

goes

on to look for

ring-

composition

n

greater

detail,

he is soon confrontedwith awkward

questions.

What s

there

at

the

beginning

o

match

he

lengthy song

of the Fates at the

end?

Whatcorresponds

o

Ariadne'slament, nearly

one-fifth of

the

whole? These

and

similardifficultieshave

discouraged

cholars rom

ooking

for

an elaborate

scheme

of

ring-composition.2

Nevertheless,

after a careful

study

of

what

I

considerto be

the

naturaldivisions

of

the

poem,

I

have

come to

the conclusion

that

n

64

Catullus

s

experimenting

with

a

form of

ring-composition

n

which

the related sections

correspond

in

form and

content,

but

may vary quite

markedly

n

length.

The

structure

s

set out

in

diagrammatic

orm

in

Table

1,

and the

verbal echoes which

strengthen

the links

between

corresponding

sections

are

listed in

Table

2.

I

shall

first

attempt

to

show how the

related

sections

correspond

o

one anotherand

then

addressthe

question

of

how

the

discovery of ring-compositionaffects our understanding f the poem.

Since

the

correspondences

re most distinct n the inner

story,

we will

begin

with the

two

coverlet

sections

D

(43-51)

and

d

(265f).

Here

the

links are self-

evident

in

subject

matter and

striking

in

language

(see

Table

2).

In D the

description

of

the

actual

coverlet is

preceded by

lines

which dwell on the

luxuriousness

of

its

setting,

but

since several sections contain

some kind of

prefatory

material,

I

shall discuss this

aspect

of Catullus'

compositional

technique

ater.

The

correspondence

between sections

E

(52-70)

and

e

(249-264)

also

is

clear-cut.

It is in

these

sections,

and these sections

only,

that

the scenes

11

would

like to

express my

indebtedness o

W.

S.

Anderson

of the

University

of

California,

Berkeley,

and

to

the

anonymous

reader

of

CJ

for

helpful

criticism of earlier

draftsof this

article.

The

following

commentarieshave

proved

most useful:

W. Kroll

(Leipzig

1929),

C.

J.

Fordyce

(Oxford

1961),

and K.

Quinn

London

1970).

Subsequent

reference o these commentaries

and

to

the

following

article

will

be

by

author's name

only:

F.

Klingner,

Catulls

Peleus-Epos,

SBBayerAkWiss

1956)

Heft

6,

pp.

1-92,

which is

reprinted

n

his

Studien

(Ziirich

1964)

156-224.

2Klingner

supra

n.

1)

notes

that

the

arrivaland

departure

f the

guests

surrounds

he

Ariadne-

Theseus

inset in

the

form of

ring-composition

p.

30f)

and

that the account of the

wedding

is

interrupted

von der

langen,

in

sich wieder vielfach durchbrochenenund in der

Form der

Ringcomposition

chliesslich

zuriickgebogenen

Einlage (p.

80).

Notable

among

the

attempts

o

see more detailed

ring-composition

are C.

W.

Mendell,

The Influence of the

Epyllion

on the

Aeneid, YCS 12 (1951) 205-226 (he sees Ariadne's lament as the center and omits 1-49 and

267-408

from his

scheme)

and D.

Thomson,

Aspects

of

Unity

in

Catullus

64,

CJ

57

(1961)

49-57

(he

also makes

Ariadne's

ament he

center,

andtreats

he

song

of

the

Fatesas a kindof

coda).

A

further cheme

is

proposed

by

C.

Murley,

The

Structure nd

Proportion

f

Catullus

LXIV,

TAPA68

(1937)

305-317.

None of these

schemes

has

won much

acceptance.

For further

bibliog-

raphy

on

the

poem

see the useful

lists

by

H. J. Leon

in

CW

53

(1960)

174f,

D.

Thompson

n

CW 65

(1971)

121f and J. Granarola

n Lustrum

17

/

1973-74

(1976)

27-70.

232



3/11

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5/11

RING-COMPOSITION

N

CATULLUS

4

235

embroidered

on the coverlet are described. The abandonedAriadnewith the

departing

Theseus

and/or

he

approaching

Dionysus

was a favorite

subject

for

Hellenistic

and Roman

artists,

but whether we are to think of a

tripartite

composition, as T. B. L. Webstersuggests,with Ariadne n the centerflanked

on

either

side

by

Theseus'

departing hip

and

Dionysus

andhis

entourage,

or of

two

discrete

pictures

is

perhaps

insoluble.3

The two sections

are also

very

similar

in

structure.

In E

after

describing

briefly

the incredulous

Ariadne

and

the

hastily departing

Theseus

Catullus

concentrates

on the

details

of

Ariadne's

Bacchic

disarray.

In

e after

a

brief reference

to

Ariadne

gazing

out

to

sea4

and to

Iacchus

quickly

advancing

owardsher he concentrates

on

the activities

of the

Bacchic thiasos.

Anaphora

f the first word n threesuccessivelines

(non

63-65 and

pars

257-259)

is used to

catalogue

the Bacchic features of

each

section

and to

heighten

the emotional tone.

Both sections climax and close five

lines after the end of the catalogue. The closing lines are unusuallyhighly-

wrought,

brilliantlyevoking

in E

the

impassioned desperation

of

Ariadne:

illa

vicem curans toto ex te

pectore,

Theseu,

toto

animo,

tota

pendebat

perdita

mente.

(69-70)

and

in

e

the

ominous

cacophony

of

the

approaching

hiasos:5

multis

raucisonos efflabant

cornua

bombos

barbaraque

orribili

stridebat

ibia

cantu.

(263-264)

Sections

F

(71-123)

and

f

(238-248)

seem

atfirst

sight

a

disparate

pair.

F is

53

lines

long

and

f

a

mere

11.

However,

both are

narrative ections

relating

he

expedition

of

Theseus,

and both are

removed

in

time

from

the beach

scene

on

Dia, F being a flashback and f a flashforward. In both sections the central

incident

is

the

fateful

sighting

of

Theseus,

Ariadne's first

(simul

ac

.

. .

conspexit

86),

and

Aegeus'

last

(cum

primum

..

conspexit

243),

andthe

tragic

effect

this has on their

lives-hopeless

infatuation or

Ariadne

and

suicide

for

Aegeus.

These sections are

also

particularly

ich

in

verbalechoes. In

Fferox

....

Theseus

(73)

sets

out from

Athens

(egressus

74);

in

fferox

Theseus

(247)

returns

(ingressus

246).

Both

end

with a

reference to

Theseus'

immemor

mens.

In

F

he leaves Dia immemori

ectore

(123),

and

in f

he returns o

Athens

mente immemori

(248).

Finally,

the

striking

use

of

proicere

in

the

phrase

Catullus

chooses

to

describe Theseus'

willingness

to

sacrifice himself for

his

city, ipse

suum

pro

caris

corpus

Athenis

/

proicere optavit

(81f),

seems

intended

to

foreshadow

Aegeus'

suicide:

praecipitem

sese

scopulorum

e

vertice

iecit

(244).

Sections

G

(124-201)

and

g

(212-237)

have the

obvious

formal

connection

that

they

are both

set

speeches.

Moreover,

they

are

both

addressed

o

Theseus

as

he

departs

by ship by

speakers

who

are

inked

by

their

overmastering

ove

for

him. In

structure,

both

speeches

are

essentially bipartite,

Ariadne's

consisting

3Webster,

The

Myth

of

Ariadne from

Homer to

Catullus,

G&R

13

(1966)

22-31. For

reproductions

f these

scenes

see the

plates

appended

o

Webster's

article

and

the useful

collection

of

drawings

n S. Reinach,

Repertoire

de Peintures

Grecques

et Romaines

(Paris

1922)

111-113.

4The

repetition

here of

prospectans

cedentem from lines

52f is a

particularly

triking

verbal

echo.

5For

he

threatening

natureof

these

lines

see Curran

infra

n.

14)

180.

For

Ariadne's

error t the

approach

of

the thiasos cf.

Ovid

AA

1.539f:

excidit

illa

metu

rupitque

novissima

verba;

/

nullus in

exanimi

corpore

sanguis

erat.



6/11

236

DAVID A.

TRAILL

of

querellae

(132-187)

and

an

exsecratio

(188-201),

Aegeus'

of

querellae

(215-227)

and mandata

228-237).

The

exsecratio and

mandata

are crucial o

the

development

of the

plot.

Their mutual

incompatibility

s

resolved

at

the

center

of the

poemby

the

intervention

f

Jupiter.

These

similarities

n

form and

structureare

strengthened

by

several verbal

echoes.

First,

both

speakers

specifically

use

the

word

querellae

of their

complaints

195

and

223);6

Catullus

also

uses the word

n

the narrative

ntroducing

Ariadne's

speech

(130).

Second,

the

phrase

that

Aegeus

chooses

to

refer,

in

anticipation,

to

Theseus'

victory

over

the

Minotaur,

ut

tauri

respergassanguine

dextram

230),

seems

intended

to recall

Ariadne's

respersum

iuvenem

raterna

caede

(181).

Finally,

key

elements of the two

sections,

Ariadne's

call for

vengeance

and

Aegeus'

decision

to hoist

black

sails on Theseus'

ship,

are

prompted

by

the same

motive,

namely,

that

he

speaker'sgrief

shouldnot

go

unnoticed:

vos nolite

pati

nostrum vanescere luctum (199) and nostros ut luctus nostraequeincendia

mentis

/

carbasus

obscurata dicet

ferrugine

Hibera

(226f).

The

central

section

H

(202-211)

describes

the

intervention

of

Jupiter

in

response

to

Ariadne's

prayer

or

vengeance

and

the effect of this

intervention

on

Theseus.

Kinsey

observes:

Jupiter's

assentto

Ariadne's

prayer

s

described

(204-206)

with

great

pomp:

annuit nvicto

caelestem

numine rector

quo

motu tellus

atque

horrida

contremuerunt

aequora

concussitque

micantia

sidera

mundus.

The

idea of

these

lines

is

not

original

but

t

does

not

appear

o occur

elsewhere

at

suchlengthnorin suchexaggerated orm.' 7Kinsey goes onto suggestthat he

grandiloquent

one

may

be

ironic,

but

this is

to

underestimate

he

pivotal

nature

of

these

lines.

Jupiter's

nod

of

assent

in line 204 marks he

turning-point

n

the

story

of

Theseus

and

Ariadne.

Theseus'

immemor

mens,

which

has

caused

Ariadne

so

much

anguish,

is

now turned

against

himself andhis

family.

It

is

perhaps

not

a

coincidence

that line

204 is the exact

midpoint

of the

poem.8

Jupiter's

ntervention

s flanked

by

references

to

Ariadne's

call for

vengeance

(203)

and

Aegeus'

mandata,

which link

the

center

o

the

adjacent peeches.

In

much

the same

way

in

poem

68

the

short sections

on

the Greek

expedition

to

Troy

which

flank

the central

section,

Catullus'

ament

for

his

brother,

ink the

centerto the Laodamiasections.'

If

we now

return

o the coverlet

sections

and

move towards

he

beginning

and

end

of

the

poem,

we

first

encounter

wo sections

on the

wedding

guests,

C

(31-

42)

and c

(267-302),

then

two sections

addressed o

Peleus,

B

(22-30)

and

b

(303-381),

and

finally

the

prologue,

A

(1-21),

and

epilogue,

a

(382-408).

There is

a certain

mbalance

between

section

C

(31-42)

and

section c

(267-

302),

for

while C describes

merely

the

arrival

of the mortal

guests,

c

describes

both

the

departure

f

the

mortals

and the arrival

of

the

immortals.

However,

the

similarity

n

subject

matter

between

the two

sections

makes

their

correspon-

dence

self-evident.

Moreover,

lines

38-42

in

C

describing

the

abandoned

6Note

also

the use ot

conquerar

(164)

and

nostris

questibus

(170).

7T.

E.

Kinsev.

Irony

and Structure

n Catullus

64,

Latomus

24

(1965)

921f.

I

include

lines

23b and 378

in

the

reckoning.

See Kroll's scheme

(p.

219).



7/11

RING-COMPOSITION

N CATULLUS 4 237

countryside

createan

expectation

hatthe mortalswill

return o the

country

and

hence

can be

regarded

as

anticipating,

and to that extent

balancing,

the

departure

f the mortal

guests.

The

refreshing

simile that

occupies

most

of

the

spacedevoted to the departure f the mortals n c providesa welcome contrast

to

the

jarring

picture

of the

revelling

bacchanals

254-264)

and this must be at

least

part

of the reason

for the inclusion of this

passage.

Both

C

and

c mention

where the different

guests

have come from and

refer

to the

gifts

they

bring.

Both sections

use

the

rhetoricaldevice of the list.

In

C

the lists

are of the

places

and activities which the mortal

guests

have left behind.

In

c

the

gifts broughtby

the immortalsare

listed.

The

disparity

in

length

between

sections

B

(22-30)

and

b

(303-381)

is

enormous,

but

the

links in

subject

matter, orm,

and

language

are

compelling.

In both

sections Peleus

himself

is addressedand

his

felicity

extolled.

Quinn

rightlyuses the term makarismosof both sections.10The first two lines of the

two

addresses

to Peleus are

remarkably

imilar in

vocabulary

and

phrasing:

teque

adeo

eximie taedis felicibus

aucte,

Thessaliae columen

Peleu,

cui

luppiter

ipse

.

.

.

(25f)

and

o decus eximium

magnis

virtutibus

augens,

Emathiae

tutamen,

Opis

carissime nato

. . .

(323f)

The conclusion that the

second address is intended to

recall the first

seems

inevitable.

However,

in

view

of

the fact

that he

second

makarismos

s

so

much

more

mportant

han he

first,

it

would

perhaps

be nearer he mark o

say

that

he

first, which in

any

case

presents

a somewhat runcated

ppearance,

s intended

to

anticipate

the

second.

Sections

A

(1-21)

and

a

(382-408)

form

the

poem's

prologue

and

epilogue.

In

both sections

Catullusdwells

on divine

participation

n

human

affairs.

He

emphasises

he

personal

natureof that

participation y

what

Kinsey

refers o as

the awed

ipsa

in 9

and

ipse

in

21 1'

and

by praesentes

in

384

and

praesens

in

396. There

is

an antithesis

n

both sections between the

past (quondam

I

and

382),

when the

gods mingled

with

mortals,

and the

present,

when

they

shun

their

company

and

sight:

quare

nec

talis

dignantur

visere

coetus

nec se

contingi

patiuntur

umine claro.

(407f)

This

antithesis

s

the

dominant heme of the

epilogue,

but s

less

conspicuous

n

the

prologue.

Nevertheless,

he

antithesis

s

felt

there

oo,

for

quondam

points

as

much

to

the culturalas to

the

temporalgap

between

the events described

andthe

present.

In

much the

same

way

as our once

upon

a

time,

it

seems both

wistful

and

slightly

condescending.

It

prepares

the reader for an

ethos far

removed from

that of

his

own

day.

Dicuntur

(2)

is a

further

ecognition

of

the

distance between the world of

Greek

mythology

and

the

stark

realities of

contemporary

Rome.

Also,

the total

withdrawalof the

gods

in

the

epilogue

(407f) is presaged in the prologue, where the Nereids emerge to gaze in

1oQuinn

alls

only

lines

334-336

a

makarismos,

but

the term can

be

applied

to

the

whole

song,

as

the

impending

birth

of Achilles is to

be seen as

the

culminationof Peleus'

felicitas.

Catullus

practically

abels

the

song

a

makarismos n

line 382: talia

praefantes

quondam elicia

Pelei.

Kinsey (supra

n.

7)

915.



8/11

238 DAVID

A.

TRAILL

astonishment

at

the monstrum

15)

intruding

on their domain

and are seen

by

mortal

eyes

for the

first

and last

time: illa

atque

(haud)

alia

die

(16).

The verbs

avertere

(5

and

406)

and imbuere

(11

and

397)

are

found

in

the

prologue

and

epilogue

and nowhere

else in

the

poem.

In

fact,

averteredoes

not

occur

elsewhere

n

Catullus,

and

imbuere

only

once.12

Moreover,

he verbs

are

used each

time in a

significant

context.

They

describe

the

quest

of the

Argonauts,

the

launching

of the

Argo,

the onset of

man's

sinfulness,

and

his

alienation of

the

gods.

In

the

prologue

both

verbs

are used

with

a

touch of

flamboyance.

Avertere

(5)

with

the

meaning

and,

essentially,

the tone of to

steal

is a

strangely

hostile word to

use

of

the

Argonauts'

quest.'3

Imbuit

(11),

as

Curran

notes,14

s an

example

of Alexandrian

wit.

The

ship

initiates

the

sea

with

her

passage,

but,

in

the literal sense of the

word,

it is

the

ship,

not the

sea,

that

becomes imbuta. The recurrence f these

verbs n

the

epilogue

may

be

sheercoincidence,butprobability ndCatullus'practiceelsewhere nthepoem

argue against

such

an

assumption.

By

repeating

imbuere

in

the

epilogue

Catullus s

perhaps

uggesting

that

the

launching

of

the

Argo

marked

he onset

of man's sinfulness.

Certainly,

in

the fourth

eclogue,

which

bears

unmistakable

traces of

indebtedness

to Catullus

64,

Virgil

refers to

the

launching

of the

Argo

in

just

those terms:

pauca

tamen suberunt

priscae vestigia

fraudis

quae temptare

Thetin

ratibus,

quae

cingere

muris

oppida, quae

iubeant

telluri infindere sulcos.

alter erit

tum

Tiphys

et altera

quae

vehat

Argo

delectos heroas. (31-35)

Similarly,

the

repetition

of avertere

in

the

epilogue

may

be intended o

indicate

that the

quest

of

the

Argonauts

hould be

classed

among

those sinful acts that

have

alienated the

gods

from

participation

n

human affairs.

To

conclude

this examinationof

the

correspondences

etween

the

sections,

I

would

like to comment on

certain

passages

which

appear

to have no

real

parallels

n

theirrelated

sections.

These

passages

are: the address o

the

heroic

age

in

general

(22-24);

the

description

of the

palace

(43-46);

the

description

of

12At

4.17 it

is

also used of

a

ship's launching.

13In

the

overwhelming

majority

of the

passages

cited

in TLL

s.v.

II)

the tone is

disparaging.

In

military

contexts,

however,

wherethe

party

robbed

s the

enemy,

the verb

can be

used

without

any

apparent

mputation

of

wrongdoing.

After

all,

stealing

from the

enemy

is

morally acceptable.

However,

at

the outset

of the

Argonautic

xpedition

the

Colchians

are not

regarded

as the

enemy.

Nor do

the

Argonauts

ntend to resort

to

the

surreptitious

actics

that

the verb

avertere seems to

imply.

The verb

describes

with

reasonable

accuracy

he manner

n which

the

Argonauts

inally

won

the

fleece,

but when

applied

o theirmotives at the

outset,

it casts their

expedition

n an unfavorable

light.

In

a

poem

celebrating

he

marriage

f one

of the

Argonauts

one

might

have

expected

a neutral

verb,

such as

recipere,

repetere

or

the like.

There

can

be little

doubt

hatCatulluschose

avertere

to

translate

Ennius'

per

dolum:

vecti

petebantpellem

inauratamarietis

Colchis imperio regis Peliae per dolum. (213f Jocelyn)

The

Medea,

however,

is

a

tragedy,

not an

epic,

and the

summary

ccountof the

Argonauts'

voyage

is

given

by

Medea's

very partial

nurse.

That Catullus chose

to

reproduce

n

the

traditionally

objective

context

of

epic

narrative he

bias inherent

n

per

dolum

seems to indicate a

similarly

hostile attitude

o the

Argonauticexpedition

on

the

part

of the narrator.

14L.

C.

Curran,

Catullus

64

and

the

Heroic

Age,

YCS

21

(1969)

176.



9/11

RING-COMPOSITIONN CATULLUS 4 239

Ariadne hat

precedes

her

speech

(124-131);

the Fates at their

work

(303-322).

I

have

dealt with the

departure

f the mortal

guests

in the

discussion of

C

and

c

above. The

remaining passages

are

all

clearly prefatory

in

function. The

address o the heroesandthedescriptionof thepalace present he largerwhole

from

which

the item

on which

the

poet

wishes to

concentrate

s

selected.

In the

terminology

made famous

by Bundy's

work on

Pindar,15

hey

are foil

for

the

climactic

topic.

That is to

say, they

are not

topics

in

themselves,

but

rather

means of

introducing opics. They

also serve to set the

selected

topics

in a

suitablecontext. The address o

the heroes enhances he

dignity

of

Peleus,

and

the

description

of

its

setting

adds to

the

beauty

and

luxuriousness of

the

coverlet. The

prefatory

passages

on

Ariadne

and the

Fates

are somewhat

different

in

that

they

do not

present

the

larger

whole from which a

topic

is

selected.

Their

function s

to introduce

he

extended

passages

of

direct

speech

which constitute the two showpieces of the poem, Ariadne's lament and the

song

of

the Fates. Both

speeches

deserve and

indeed

require

some

form

of

introductionto set them off. Besides

fulfilling

the

function

of

prefaces,

however,

the two

descriptive

passages

are linked

organically

o the

speeches.

After

the

digression

on the

expedition

of Theseus Catullus

could

hardly

aunch

into

Ariadne's

speech

without

attempting

o

recreate

he

emotional

atmosphere

of lines

60-70.

The

baroquedescription

of

Ariadne's

grief

in

lines 124-131

effectively

creates

the

mood which the

highly-charged peech

requires.

In

the

case

of the

Fates,

the

description

of their work

gives

life to

the refrainthat

punctuates

heir

song,

currite

ducentes

subtegmina, curritefusi,

and reminds

us of their

preeminent

qualifications

or

giving

Peleus an accurateaccount of

his future.

How

does

recognition

of

the

ringed

structure ffect our

understanding

f

the

poem?

It

brings

us

no

nearer o a definitive answer

to

such

difficult

questions

as:

What

is the

significance

of the inner

story

to

the

wedding

of Peleus and

Thetis? What

is

Catullus' attitudeto the heroic

age?

How

did he

expect

his

audience

to

react

to the

Fates'

picture

of Achilles?

It

does,

however,

resolve

some

puzzles.

For

instance,

the convoluted

chronology

of

the

inner

story

is

clearly

the

result of

Catullus'

rearranging

f the

elements

of

the

story

to fit his

ringed

structure.

Moreover,certain

of

the

details and

emphases

in

Catullus'

telling

of

the

story

are due to his

attempts

to create

similarities between

corresponding

ections.

Thus

in

E

we

see

Ariadne's

young

(iuvenis

58)

mortal

lover

rapidlydeparting

fugiens

58)

cum

classe

(53)

and

n

e her

young

(florens

251)

immortal lover

rapidly

approaching

volitabat

251)

cum

thiaso

(252).

Again,

as

Ariadne

n E

yearns

for one who has

no

thoughts

or

her,

so

Bacchus

in

e

yearns

for

Ariadne,

who has no

thoughts

for

him. In

both

passages

anaphora

and

apostrophe

are used

to

heighten

the

emotion:

toto

ex te

pectore,

Theseu,

/

toto

animo,

tota

pendebat

perdita

mente

(69f);

te

quaerens,

Ariadna

tuoque

ncensus amore

(253).

Finally,

when Catullus

compares

Ariadne

o the

statueof a Bacchanal,he is clearlyforeshadowingthe Dionysiac thiasos in e

and her imminent

destiny

to become the bride of Bacchus.

The same

tendencies,

though

ess

conspicuous,

are

discernible

n Ff and

Gg.

For

instance,

in F

the

disproportionate

mphasis

placed

on

Ariadne's first

15E.

Bundy,

Studia

Pindarica

I,

UnivCalPubCIPhil

18

(1962)

no.

1,

p.

5

et

passim.



10/11

240

DAVID

A.

TRAILL

sighting

of

Theseus,

to which

everything preceding

and

following

in

that

section

is

subordinated,16

s

explainedby

Catullus'desire

to

make the

episode

at

Knossos

as

similar

as

possible

to the

tragedy

at

Athens. Thus

just

as

Ariadne'ssightingof Theseusensured throughhersacrificeson hisbehalf)his

victory

over the

Minotaur,17

o

Aegeus'

sighting

of Theseus'

ship

brought

on

the old

man's

suicide.

Theseus'

slaying

of the Minotaurand his

forgetting

of

his

father's nstructions

are the most

glorious

and

ignominious

episodes

in his

career. Catullus invites

us to

connect

them

by

comparing

them both

to the

actionof

wind on a

mountain-top-a

violent wind

in

F,

a

gentle

one

in

f.

In

G

and

g

Catullushas contrived o

emphasize

he

correspondence

etween the two

sections

by casting

both

speeches

in

the form of

propemptica.18

n

G

Ariadne'

querellae,

a traditional

eature

of the

genre,19

re

naturally

based

on her

over's

violation of

fides,

as

is usual

in

propemptica.20

To

correspond

o this

Catullus

hasAegeus indulge n querellaebased on his sorrowatbeingforced to sendhis

newly-found

son off

on

a

dangerous

mission.21

Like Dido's

speeches

to

Aeneas,

which

Cairns

discusses,22

Ariadne's

propempticon

s,

of

course,

an

example

of the inverse

type.

Hence a

curse takes the

place

of the

usual

good

wishes.

Aegeus' propempticon

s that

of

a

superior

o

an inferior.

Hence the

inclusion of the

mandatawhich the

story requires

s

genericallyappropriate.23

It

is

Ariadne's

curse

and

Aegeus'

mandata

that connect the fates

of

Ariadne

and

Aegeus through

Theseus' immemormens. The final link

in

the

symmetry

s

forged

by

the

intervention

of

Jupiter

at the centerof the

poem.

The effect

of

Theseus'

immemor

mens

on Ariadne

is seen

in F

(122f)

and

on

Aegeus

(241-245).

While

much

of the material f the outer

story

ends itself

readily

o

a structure

of

ring-composition,

his is not

true of the

epithalamium.

Catullus

appears

o

have

regarded

he

epithalamium

s

almost the raison

d'

tre for the

poem

and,

logically,

has

placed

it

in

the

climactic

position just

before the

epilogue.

Understandably

e

did

not

want

to weaken its

impact

by

splitting

it

over two

widely

separated

egments.

Besides,

it

would

make

no sense to

place part

of the

epithalamium

efore the

arrival

of the

guests.

Catullushas solved this

problem

by

casting

the

epithalamium

n

the form

of

a

makarismos

of

Peleus

and

16The

preceding

lines

explain

how the fateful

meeting

came

about.

Theseus'

victory

over

the

Minotaur s

seen

as

dependent

on

Ariadne's vows on his

behalf

(103-111).

7Nam

105)

clearly

introduces

he

slaying

of

the

Minotaur

as

proof

of the

efficacy

of

Ariadne's

prayers.

18See

he

useful

description

of the

propempticon

n F.

Cairns,

Generic

Composition

n

Greekand

Roman

Poetry

(Edinburgh

1971)

6: .

..

the

primary

elements

of the

propemptikon

are

.

. .

someone

departing,

another

person bidding

him

farewell,

and a

relationship

of

affection

between

the

two,

plus

an

appropriate etting.

19Cairns

supra

n.

18)

believes

that

querellae

is the

Latin

rendering

f the Greek

schetliasmos

(p.

12).

20See

Cairns

(supra

n.

18)

12.

21These

querellae

are

partly expressed

in

such

phrases

as

eripit

invito mihi te

(219)

and

nondum

lumina

sunt

gnati

cara

saturata

igura

(219f)

and

partly

hinted

at in

multas

expromam

mente

querellas

(223).

22Cairns

supra

n.

18)

131-135.

23A

superior

bidding

arewell to an

inferior

might normally

nclude

advice in

his

propempticon.

See Cairns

(supra

n.

18)

9



11/11

RING-COMPOSITION

IN

CATULLUS

64 241

incorporating

brief,

anticipatory

makarismos

of Peleus after

the

prologue.

In

this

earlier makarismos he

draws

his

praise

of

Peleus

from

topics

of

the

betrothal.

In

this

way

Catullus

provides

a

corresponding

section

for the

epithalamium hat is consistentwith the orderlydevelopmentof the wedding

ceremonies.

In

a

forthcoming

article

t will be

shown

that

he centerof

Catullus

63,

whose

ringed

structure

has

already

been

pointed

out

by

E.

Schiifer,24

s

the

short

passage

on Sun

and

Sleep

(38-42).25

When

poems

63 and 64

are

compared,

they

are

found

to have

remarkably

similar centers.

In

both

poems

a

meteorological

change

of the

megacosmos

brings

about

a

sympathetic

eaction

in

the

microcosmos

ot the

hero's

mens. Thus

just

as in 64

Jupiter's

hundrous

nod

that

shakes

the universe

(204-206)

clouds Theseus'

mens

(207f),

so

in

63

the

Sun's beams

that

bring ight

to the universe

(40)

clear

Attis'

mens,

enabling

him to see wherehe is andwhathe has lost (46). Thischangeof mens is pivotal

to both

the

Attis

and the

Ariadne-Theseus

tories.

The

use

of

ring-composition

in

these two

poems

and the

similarity

of

their

centers raises

a

host

of

questions

about Catullus'

religious

and

philosophical

views,

narrative

echnique,

and

indebtedness

to Hellenistic

antecedents,

which lie

beyond

the

scope

of

this

paper.

DAVID

A.

TRAILL

University

of California,

Davis

24E.

Schgfer,

Das

Verhdiltnis

om Erlebnis

und

Kunstgestalt

bei

Catull,

Hermes

Einzelschr.

18

(Wiesbaden

1966)

101.

25My

article,

Catullus

63:

Rings

around

he

Sun,

will

appear

n a

forthcoming

ssue of CP.

Documents

Ring-Composition in Catullus 64