Ring-Composition in Catullus 64

Author(s): David A. Traill

Source: The Classical Journal, Vol. 76, No. 3 (Feb. - Mar., 1981), pp. 232-241
Published by: The Classical Association of the Middle West and South
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3297325 .
Accessed: 28/06/2014 15:42
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
.
The Classical Association of the Middle West and South is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and
extend access to The Classical Journal.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 132.248.9.8 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:42:13 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
RING-COMPOSITION IN CATULLUS 64
It is
apparent
to even the casual reader of Catullus 64 that a basic
pattern
of
ring-composition
articulates the
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
in
greater
detail,
he is soon confronted with awkward
questions.
What is there at the
beginning
to match the
lengthy song
of the Fates at the end?
What
corresponds
to Ariadne's
lament,
nearly
one-fifth of the whole? These
and similar difficulties have
discouraged
scholars from
looking
for an elaborate
scheme of
ring-composition.2
Nevertheless,
after a careful
study
of what I
consider to be the natural divisions of the
poem,
I have come to the conclusion
that in 64 Catullus is
experimenting
with a form of
ring-composition
in which
the related sections
correspond
in form and
content,
but
may vary quite
markedly
in
length.
The structure is set out in
diagrammatic
form 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
to one another and then address the
question
of how the
discovery
of
ring-composition
affects our
understanding
of the
poem.
Since the
correspondences
are most distinct in 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
later.
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 to W. S. Anderson of the
University
of
California,
Berkeley,
and to the
anonymous
reader of CJ for
helpful
criticism of earlier drafts of this article.
The
following
commentaries have
proved
most useful: W. Kroll
(Leipzig 1929),
C. J.
Fordyce
(Oxford 1961),
and K.
Quinn (London 1970). Subsequent
reference to 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
in his Studien
(Ziirich
1964)
156-224.
2Klingner (supra
n.
1)
notes that the arrival and
departure
of the
guests
surrounds the 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 durchbrochenen und in der Form der
Ringcomposition
schliesslich
zuriickgebogenen
Einlage" (p.
80).
Notable
among
the
attempts
to
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
lament the
center,
and treats the
song
of the Fates as a kind of
coda).
A further scheme is
proposed by
C.
Murley,
"The Structure and
Proportion
of Catullus
LXIV,"
TAPA 68
(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
in CW 65
(1971)
121f and J. Granarola in Lustrum 17 / 1973-74
(1976)
27-70.
232
This content downloaded from 132.248.9.8 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:42:13 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Table 1
STRUCTURE OF CATULLUS
64
A 1-21
(21) Prologue: launching
of
Argo;
Peleus sees
Thetis;
Jupiter
decides that
they
must be
united.
B 22-30
(10)
Makarismos of heroic
age
in
general
and of Peleus in
particular.
C 31-42
(12)
Arrival of mortal
guests bearing gifts;
abandonment of
country
for town.
D 43-51
(9)
Luxuriousness of
palace;
coverlet on Thetis' couch.
E 52-70
(19)
Ariadne on beach of
Dia, staring
after
departed
Theseus in "Bacchic"
disarray.
F 71-123
(53)
Flashback: Theseus'
expedition
to Crete and abandonment of Ariadne immemori
pectore.
G 124-201
(78)
Set
speech
addressed to Theseus. Ariadne's
querellae
and exsecratio.
H 202-211
(10) Jupiter
intervenes. Curse fulfilled;
Theseus
forgets
mandata.
g
212-37
(26)
Set
speech
addressed to Theseus.
Aegeus' querellae
and mandata.
(Flashback).
f 238-248
(11)
Flashforward: Theseus returns to Athens mente immemori. Death of
Aegeus.
e 249-264
(16)
Ariadne on beach.
Approach
of
Dionysus
and Bacchae.
d 265-266
(2)
Coverlet.
c 267-302
(36) Departure
of mortal
guests.
Arrival of immortal
guests bearing
rustic
gifts.
b 303-381
(79)
Makarismos of Peleus
sung by
the
Fates.
a 382-408
(27) Epilogue: formerly
the
gods mingled
with mortals, but man's sinfulness has driven them away.
Z
C)
0
0
z
H
k)
-]:
t-
t"
This content downloaded from 132.248.9.8 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:42:13 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Table 2
VERBAL ECHOES IN CORRESPONDING SECTIONS OF CATULLUS 64
A
Prologue
1
quondam
5
avertere1
11 imbuit2
16f
(haud)
alia viderunt luce marinas
/ . . . Nymphas
B Makarismos
25f
teque
adeo eximie2 taedis felicibus
aucte,
Thessaliae columen
Peleu,
cui
luppiter ipse
. . .
C Arrival of Guests
34 dona2 ferunt
prae
se
35
linquunt
Phthiotica
Tempe1
D Coverlet
47
pulvinarl
50 vestis
. . .
variata
figuris
E Ariadne on Beach
52f
prospectans1
... cedentem2
61
ut
effigies
bacchantis'
F Theseus
71 assiduis2 . . . luctibus
73f ferox2
. . .
Theseus
. . .
egressus
81f
corpus
. . .
proicere
86
simul ac
. . .
conspexit
105ff wind
/ mountain-top
simile;
flamine
123 immemori
. . .
pectore
G Ariadne's
Speech
130,
195
querellis,2 querellas2
181
respersum
.
. .
caede
188 non
. .
.
languescent
lumina morte
199 nostrum . . . luctum
1word not found elsewhere in Catullus
a
Epilogue
382
quondam
406 avertere'
397 est imbuta2
408 nec se
contingi patiuntur
lumine claro
b Makarismos
323f o decus eximium2
magnis
virtutibus
augens,
Emathiae
tutamen,
Opis
carissime nato
...
c
Departure /
Arrival of Guests
279
portans
silvestria dona2
286f
Tempel
...
linquens
d Coverlet
266
pulvinar1
265
vestis
decorata
figuris
e Ariadne on Beach
249
prospectans1
cedentem2
255 bacchantes'
f Theseus
242 in assiduos2 . . . fletus
246f
ingressus
. . .
ferox2 Theseus
244
praecipitem
sese
. . .
iecit
243 cum
primum
. . .
conspexit
239f wind
/
mountain-top
simile;
flamine
248 mente immemori
g Aegeus' Speech
223
querellas2
230
respergas1 sanguine
219f
languida
nondum / lumina
226 nostros . . . luctus
2word not found elsewhere in Catullus 64
E3
t-
t-
This content downloaded from 132.248.9.8 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:42:13 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
RING-COMPOSITION IN CATULLUS 64 235
embroidered on the coverlet are described. The abandoned Ariadne with the
departing
Theseus and/or the
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. Webster
suggests,
with Ariadne in the center flanked
on either side
by
Theseus'
departing ship
and
Dionysus
and his
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
towards her he concentrates on the activities
of the Bacchic thiasos.
Anaphora
of the first word in three successive lines
(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
unusually highly-
wrought, brilliantly evoking
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
thiasos:5
multis raucisonos efflabant cornua bombos
barbaraque
horribili stridebat tibia cantu.
(263-264)
Sections F
(71-123)
and f
(238-248)
seem at first
sight
a
disparate pair.
F is
53 lines
long
and f a mere 11.
However,
both are narrative sections
relating
the
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),
and the
tragic
effect this has on their
lives-hopeless
infatuation for
Ariadne
and suicide for
Aegeus.
These sections are also
particularly
rich in verbal echoes. 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
pectore (123),
and in f he returns to 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 to Theseus
as he
departs by ship by speakers
who are linked
by
their
overmastering
love 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
of these scenes see the
plates appended
to Webster's article and the useful collection
of
drawings
in S.
Reinach, Repertoire
de Peintures
Grecques
et Romaines
(Paris 1922) 111-113.
4The
repetition
here of
prospectans
cedentem from lines 52f is a
particularly striking
verbal
echo.
5For
the
threatening
nature of these lines see Curran
(infra
n.
14)
180. For Ariadne's terror at the
approach
of the thiasos cf. Ovid AA 1.539f: excidit illa metu
rupitque
novissima
verba; / nullus in
exanimi
corpore sanguis
erat.
This content downloaded from 132.248.9.8 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:42:13 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
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 to
the
development
of the
plot.
Their mutual
incompatibility
is resolved at the
center of the
poem by
the intervention of
Jupiter.
These similarities in form and
structure are
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 in the narrative
introducing
Ariadne's
speech (130). Second,
the
phrase
that
Aegeus
chooses to
refer,
in
anticipation,
to Theseus'
victory
over the
Minotaur,
ut tauri
respergas sanguine
dextram
(230),
seems intended
to recall Ariadne's
respersum iuvenem fraterna
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 the
speaker's grief
should not
go
unnoticed: vos nolite
pati
nostrum vanescere luctum
(199)
and nostros ut luctus
nostraeque
incendia
mentis
/
carbasus obscurata dicet
ferrugine
Hibera
(226f).
The central section H
(202-211)
describes the intervention of
Jupiter
in
response
to
Ariadne's
prayer
for
vengeance
and the effect of this intervention
on Theseus.
Kinsey
observes:
"Jupiter's
assent to Ariadne's
prayer
is described
(204-206)
with
great pomp:
annuit invicto caelestem numine rector
quo
motu tellus
atque
horrida
contremuerunt
aequora concussitque
micantia sidera mundus.
The idea of these lines is not
original
but it does not
appear
to occur elsewhere at
such
length
nor in such
exaggerated form.'"7
Kinsey goes
on to
suggest
that the
grandiloquent
tone
may
be
ironic,
but this is to underestimate the
pivotal
nature
of these lines.
Jupiter's
nod of assent in line 204 marks the
turning-point
in the
story
of Theseus and Ariadne. Theseus' immemor
mens,
which has caused
Ariadne so much
anguish,
is now turned
against
himself and his
family.
It is
perhaps
not a coincidence that line 204 is the exact
midpoint
of the
poem.8
Jupiter's
intervention is flanked
by
references to
Ariadne's
call for
vengeance
(203)
and
Aegeus'
mandata,
which link the center to the
adjacent speeches.
In
much the same
way
in
poem
68 the short sections on the Greek
expedition
to
Troy
which flank the central
section,
Catullus' lament for his
brother,
link the
center to the Laodamia sections.'
If we now return to the coverlet sections and move towards the
beginning
and
end of the
poem,
we first encounter two sections on the
wedding guests,
C
(31-
42)
and c
(267-302),
then two sections addressed to
Peleus,
B
(22-30)
and b
(303-381),
and
finally
the
prologue,
A
(1-21),
and
epilogue,
a
(382-408).
There is a certain imbalance 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
of the mortals and the arrival of the immortals.
However,
the
similarity
in
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 in Catullus 64,"
Latomus 24
(1965)
921f.
"I
include lines 23b and 378 in the
reckoning.
"See Kroll's scheme
(p. 219).
This content downloaded from 132.248.9.8 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:42:13 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
RING-COMPOSITION IN CATULLUS 64 237
countryside
create an
expectation
that the mortals will return to the
country
and
hence can be
regarded
as
anticipating,
and to that extent
balancing,
the
departure
of the mortal
guests.
The
refreshing
simile that
occupies
most of the
space
devoted to the
departure
of the mortals in c
provides
a 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 rhetorical device of the list. In C the lists are of the
places
and activities which the mortal
guests
have left behind. In c the
gifts brought by
the immortals are listed.
The
disparity
in
length
between sections B
(22-30)
and b
(303-381)
is
enormous,
but the links in
subject
matter, form,
and
language
are
compelling.
In both sections Peleus himself is addressed and his
felicity
extolled.
Quinn
rightly
uses the term makarismos of both sections.10 The first two lines of the
two addresses to Peleus are
remarkably
similar 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 the second
makarismos
is so much
more
important
than the
first,
it would
perhaps
be nearer the mark to
say
that the
first,
which in
any
case
presents
a somewhat truncated
appearance,
is intended
to
anticipate
the second.
Sections A
(1-21)
and a
(382-408)
form the
poem's prologue
and
epilogue.
In both sections Catullus dwells on divine
participation
in human affairs. He
emphasises
the
personal
nature of that
participation by
what
Kinsey
refers to as
"the awed
ipsa
in 9 and
ipse
in
21"1'
and
by praesentes
in 384 and
praesens
in
396. There is an antithesis in 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
lumine claro.
(407f)
This antithesis is the dominant theme of the
epilogue,
but is less
conspicuous
in
the
prologue.
Nevertheless,
the antithesis is felt there
too,
for
quondam points
as
much to the cultural as to the
temporal gap
between the events described and the
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
recognition
of the
distance between the world of Greek
mythology
and the stark realities of
contemporary
Rome.
Also,
the total withdrawal of the
gods
in the
epilogue
(407f)
is
presaged
in the
prologue,
where the Nereids
emerge
to
gaze
in
1oQuinn
calls
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 culmination of Peleus'
felicitas.
Catullus
practically
labels the
song
a makarismos in line 382: talia
praefantes quondam felicia
Pelei.
"Kinsey (supra
n.
7)
915.
This content downloaded from 132.248.9.8 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:42:13 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
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,
avertere does not
occur elsewhere in
Catullus,
and imbuere
only
once.12 Moreover,
the 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
is 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 of these verbs in the
epilogue may
be
sheer
coincidence,
but
probability
and Catullus'
practice
elsewhere in the
poem
argue against
such an
assumption. By repeating
imbuere in the
epilogue
Catullus is
perhaps suggesting
that the
launching
of the
Argo
marked the 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 to indicate
that the
quest
of the
Argonauts
should be classed
among
those sinful acts that
have alienated the
gods
from
participation
in human affairs.
To conclude this examination of the
correspondences
between the
sections,
I
would like to comment on certain
passages
which
appear
to have no real
parallels
in their related sections. These
passages
are: the address to 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,
where the
party
robbed is the
enemy,
the verb can be used without
any
apparent imputation
of
wrongdoing.
After
all,
stealing
from the
enemy
is
morally acceptable.
However,
at the outset of the
Argonautic expedition
the
Colchians
are not
regarded
as the
enemy.
Nor do the
Argonauts
intend to resort to the
surreptitious
tactics that the verb avertere seems to
imply.
The verb describes with reasonable
accuracy
the manner in which the
Argonauts finally
won
the
fleece,
but when
applied
to their motives at the outset, it casts their
expedition
in an unfavorable
light.
In a
poem celebrating
the
marriage
of one of the
Argonauts
one
might
have
expected
a neutral
verb,
such as
recipere, repetere
or the like. There can be little doubt that Catullus chose avertere to
translate Ennius'
per
dolum:
vecti
petebant pellem
inauratam arietis
Colchis
imperio regis
Peliae
per
dolum.
(213f Jocelyn)
The
Medea, however,
is a
tragedy,
not an
epic,
and the
summary
account of the
Argonauts' voyage
is
given by
Medea's
very partial
nurse. That Catullus chose to
reproduce
in the
traditionally
objective
context of
epic
narrative the bias inherent in
per
dolum seems to indicate a
similarly
hostile attitude to the
Argonautic expedition
on the
part
of the narrator.
14L. C.
Curran,
"Catullus 64 and the Heroic
Age,"
YCS 21
(1969)
176.
This content downloaded from 132.248.9.8 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:42:13 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
RING-COMPOSITION IN CATULLUS 64 239
Ariadne that
precedes
her
speech (124-131);
the Fates at their work
(303-322).
I
have dealt with the
departure
of the mortal
guests
in the discussion of C and c
above. The
remaining passages
are all
clearly prefatory
in function. The
address to the heroes and the
description
of the
palace present
the
larger
whole
from which the item on which the
poet
wishes to concentrate is selected. In the
terminology
made famous
by Bundy's
work on
Pindar,15
they
are foil for the
climactic
topic.
That is to
say, they
are not
topics
in
themselves,
but rather
means of
introducing topics. They
also serve to set the selected
topics
in a
suitable context. The address to the heroes enhances the
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 is to introduce the 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
introduction to set them off. Besides
fulfilling
the function of
prefaces,
however,
the two
descriptive passages
are linked
organically
to the
speeches.
After
the
digression
on the
expedition
of Theseus Catullus could
hardly
launch
into Ariadne's
speech
without
attempting
to recreate the emotional
atmosphere
of lines 60-70. The
baroque description
of Ariadne's
grief
in lines 124-131
effectively
creates the mood which the
highly-charged speech requires.
In the
case of the
Fates,
the
description
of their work
gives
life to the refrain that
punctuates
their
song,
currite ducentes
subtegmina, curritefusi,
and reminds
us of their
preeminent qualifications
for
giving
Peleus an accurate account of
his future.
How does
recognition
of the
ringed
structure affect our
understanding
of the
poem?
It
brings
us no nearer to 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' attitude to 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
of 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 sections.
Thus in E we see Ariadne's
young (iuvenis 58)
mortal
lover
rapidly departing (fugiens 58)
cum classe
(53)
and in e her
young (florens
251)
immortal lover
rapidly approaching (volitabat 251)
cum thiaso
(252).
Again,
as Ariadne in E
yearns
for one who has no
thoughts
for
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
incensus amore
(253). Finally,
when Catullus
compares
Ariadne to the
statue of a
Bacchanal,
he is
clearly foreshadowing
the
Dionysiac
thiasos in e
and her imminent
destiny
to become the bride of Bacchus.
The same
tendencies,
though
less
conspicuous,
are discernible in Ff and
Gg.
For
instance,
in F the
disproportionate emphasis placed
on Ariadne's first
15E.
Bundy,
"Studia Pindarica
I," UnivCalPubCIPhil
18
(1962)
no.
1, p.
5 et
passim.
This content downloaded from 132.248.9.8 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:42:13 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
240
DAVID A. TRAILL
sighting
of
Theseus,
to which
everything preceding
and
following
in that
section is
subordinated,16
is
explained by
Catullus' desire to make the
episode
at Knossos as similar as
possible
to the
tragedy
at Athens. Thus
just
as
Ariadne's
sighting
of Theseus ensured
(through
her sacrifices on his
behalf)
his
victory
over the
Minotaur,17
so
Aegeus' sighting
of Theseus'
ship brought
on
the old man's suicide. Theseus'
slaying
of the Minotaur and his
forgetting
of
his father's instructions are the most
glorious
and
ignominious episodes
in his
career. Catullus invites us to connect them
by comparing
them both to the
action of wind on a
mountain-top-a
violent wind in
F,
a
gentle
one in f. In G
and
g
Catullus has contrived to
emphasize
the
correspondence
between the two
sections
by casting
both
speeches
in the form of
propemptica.18
In G
Ariadne'
s
querellae,
a traditional feature of the
genre,19
are
naturally
based on her lover's
violation of
fides,
as is usual in
propemptica.20
To
correspond
to this Catullus
has
Aegeus indulge
in
querellae
based on his sorrow at
being
forced to send his
newly-found
son off on a
dangerous
mission.21 Like Dido's
speeches
to
Aeneas,
which Cairns
discusses,22
Ariadne's
propempticon
is,
of
course,
an
example
of the inverse
type.
Hence a curse takes the
place
of the usual
good
wishes.
Aegeus' propempticon
is that of a
superior
to an inferior. Hence the
inclusion of the mandata which the
story requires
is
generically appropriate.23
It is
Ariadne's
curse and
Aegeus'
mandata that connect the fates of Ariadne
and
Aegeus through
Theseus' immemor mens. The final link in the
symmetry
is
forged by
the intervention of
Jupiter
at the center of 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 of the outer
story
lends itself
readily
to a structure
of
ring-composition,
this is not true of the
epithalamium.
Catullus
appears
to
have
regarded
the
epithalamium
as almost the raison
d'
tre for the
poem
and,
logically,
has
placed
it in the climactic
position just
before the
epilogue.
Understandably
he did not want to weaken its
impact by splitting
it over two
widely separated segments. Besides,
it would make no sense to
place part
of the
epithalamium
before the arrival of the
guests.
Catullus has solved this
problem
by casting
the
epithalamium
in the form of a makarismos of Peleus and
16The
preceding
lines
explain
how the fateful
meeting
came about. Theseus'
victory
over the
Minotaur is seen as
dependent
on Ariadne's vows on his behalf
(103-111).
"7Nam (105) clearly
introduces the
slaying
of the Minotaur as
proof
of the
efficacy
of Ariadne's
prayers.
18See
the useful
description
of the
propempticon
in F.
Cairns,
Generic
Composition
in Greek and
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 setting."
19Cairns
(supra
n.
18)
believes that
querellae
is the Latin
rendering
of 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
figura" (219f)
and
partly
hinted at in "multas
expromam
mente
querellas" (223).
22Cairns
(supra
n.
18)
131-135.
23A superior bidding
farewell to an inferior
might normally
include advice in his
propempticon.
See Cairns
(supra
n.
18)
9
This content downloaded from 132.248.9.8 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:42:13 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
RING-COMPOSITION IN CATULLUS
64 241
incorporating
a
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
that is consistent with the
orderly development
of the
wedding
ceremonies.
In a
forthcoming
article it will be shown that the center of Catullus
63,
whose
ringed
structure has
already
been
pointed
out
by
E.
Schiifer,24
is
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
reaction
in the microcosmos ot the
hero's
mens. Thus
just
as in 64
Jupiter's
thundrous
nod that shakes the universe
(204-206)
clouds Theseus' mens
(207f),
so
in 63
the Sun's beams that
bring light
to the universe
(40)
clear Attis'
mens,
enabling
him to see where he is and what he has lost
(46).
This
change
of mens is
pivotal
to both the Attis and the Ariadne-Theseus stories. 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
technique,
and
indebtedness to Hellenistic
antecedents,
which lie
beyond
the
scope
of this
paper.
DAVID A. TRAILL
University of California,
Davis
24E. Schgfer,
"Das Verhdiltnis vom Erlebnis und
Kunstgestalt
bei Catull," Hermes
Einzelschr.
18
(Wiesbaden 1966)
101.
25My article, "Catullus
63:
Rings
around the Sun," will
appear
in a
forthcoming
issue of CP.
This content downloaded from 132.248.9.8 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:42:13 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions