Horace Odes 1.33-Formal and Structural Analysis

XXXIII

Albi, ne doleas plus nimio memor

inmitis Glycerae neu miserabilis

descantes elegos, cur tibi iunior

     laesa praeniteat fide.

Insignem tenui fronte Lycorida               5

Cyri torret amor, Cyrus in asperam

declinat Pholoen: sed prius Apulis

     iungentur capreae lupis

quam turpi Pholoe peccet adultero.

Sic uisum Veneri, cui placet imparis               10

formas atque animos sub iuga aenea

     saeuo mittere cum ioco.

Ipsum me melior cum peteret Venus,

grata detinuit compede Myrtale

libertina, fretis acrior Hadriae               15

     curuantis Calabros sinus.

Tibullus, may you not suffer too much excessive pain

Remembering cruel, faithless Glycera and do not proclaim miserable

Elegies: " Why have you been hurting because a youth

outshines thee?"

See delicately browed Lycoris as she burns up

with love for Cyrus, as Cyrus cruelly declines

Pholoe: But sooner in the Apullian region

Would roe deer and wolves come together,

Than would Pholoe commit disgraceful adultery.

Thus, having seen Venus, she is made merry

To send forms and minds alike

under her cruel copper yoke.

For me, love might aim at better things,

My beloved Myrtale detained me in shackles from

Being a freedman, more sharp than the Adriatic Sea

Curving to fold around Calabria

The poem's title is Horace's "Odes 1.33"

The theme is that love is a cruel sport, making us follow those that flee and flee those that follow. This theme is indirectly stated, mostly from the second and third stanzas.

The poem is not closely linked to a specific time or place, but Horace does tell of the Apulia and Calabria in Italy.

The narrator is Horace, as he is writing a letter to Tibullus, and he is implicit. Horace speaks from the first person, and this is constant throughout the poem. The poem does invite one to equate the narrator with the author.

The poem has an internal addressee, whose name is Albius Tibullus. Tibullus is a Latin poet and writer of elegies (mournful poems).

The poem does contain other characters than the narrator (Horace) and his audience (Tibullus). These are: Glycera (Hor. Odes 1.33.2), Lycoris (Hor. Odes 1.33.5), Cyrus (Hor. Odes 1.33.6), Pholoe (Hor. Odes 1.33.7+9), Venus (Hor. Odes 1.33.10), and Myrtale (Hor. Odes 1.33.14). These characters do not have agency, as Horace reports on their actions.

There is a sad, depressing mood in the beginning, and then an uplifting mood in the last stanza.

The antecedent scenario is that Glycera broke Tibullus' heart by swooning over a younger man. After the poem has ended, it is expected that Tibullus will move on with his life, and stop fretting over faithless Glycera.

There are multiple allusions in this poem, all of which reinforce the explicit meaning. There are allusions to: Cyrus [(Founder of the Persian monarchy)(Hor. Odes 1.33.6)], Pholoe [(The centaur)(Hor. Odes 1.33.7+9)], Apulia [(A region in southeastern Italy)(Hor. Odes 1.33.7)], Myrtale [(A freed woman, a friend of Horace's)(Hor. Odes 1.33.14)], the Adriatic Sea [(Sea touching both Apulia and Calabria)(Hor. Odes 1.33.15)], and Calabria [(Region in southern Italy located on the "toe" of the peninsula)(Hor. Odes 1.33.16)].

Odes 1.33 is a letter written to Albius Tibullus on love. Tibullus is a writer of elegies. Horace is trying to help Tibullus and talk him through the loss of his Glycera. Horace wants to stop Tibullus from writing his elegies and to move on.

Horace speaks to Tibullus about his love life, telling him to calm down. He speaks of love as a fickle thing, and how it can destroy some people. For Horace, love has better meanings and intentions.

There is a pattern of proper nouns at the beginning and end of lines. This occurs in lines 1, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15. Also, in each stanza in line 2 or 3, there is punctuation to break up the stanza. Horace also divided up the stanzas, with the first stanza speaking of Tibullus' love troubles, the second and third stanza speaking of the cruel sport of love, and the last stanza telling Horace's situation on love.

"Praeniteat" (Hor. Odes 1.33.4) connotates that loss of love and misery when a lover turns to like another. "Adultero" (Hor. Odes 1.33.9) has the connotation of all scandalous things about love, and that sometimes, adultery happens. The connotation behind "iuga" (Hor. Odes 1.33.11) is hard labor, like that found in making love work, like that found in working under a copper yoke.

"Tenui fronte" (Hor. Odes 1.33.5) represents youth, as a low forehead was thought to be a mark of youth and beauty. "Venus" (Hor. Odes 1.33.10) represents the fickle mind of love, toying with those who dare to get entangled in it. "Compede" (Hor. Odes 1.33.15) represents the restraints that love puts on a person, making life more difficult. "Curuantis" and "sinus" (Hor. Odes 1.33.16) represent the twists and turns that love takes.

There are allusions to: Cyrus, Pholoe, Apulia, Myrtale, the Adriatic Sea, and Calabria. The allusion to Cyrus shows that love's game does not just apply to those meel elegy writers, but also to royalty. The reference to Pholoe the centaur shows that not only humans have these problems, but so do other animals. The allusion to Myrtale shows that even Horace, in all this wisdom, has love life problems. Love is like the undulating, ever-changing Adriatic Sea.

Horace chose to break each stanza into four lines, the first three lines having twelve syllables, the fourth line having eight syllables. Horace also made sure to open up the poem with "Albi" (Hor. Odes 1.33.1), showing how much he cares for Tibullis. In line eight, "iungentur capreae lupis", he shows the contrast between docile creatures and cruel predators, and how love can get nasty. He also ends the poem with "sinus" (Hor. Odes 1.33.16), showing the curved path of life and love.

In the end, Horace wants Tibullus to realize that troubles are what love is all about, and overcoming them makes love great, and succumbing makes one sad. Love really is a game, in this poem.

Horace Odes 1.33-Proper Nouns

Albius Tibullus-The elegiac poet (cf. Epp. 1. 4)

Glycera-A favorite of Horace. A female courtesan. (Hor. Carm. i. 19. 30. iii. 19.29.)

Lycorida-Lycoris is a fictitious name

Cyrus-Founder of the Persian monarchy.

Pholoe-The centaur.

Apulis-A region in southeastern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south

Venus-Goddess of love and beauty

Myrtale-A freed woman, a friend of Horace

Hadriae-The Adriatic Sea

Calabros-A region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian peninsula.

Quarterly Vocab Check-10/22

Words from Horace's Odes 1.1, 1.11, 1.22, 1.37

A. Verbs
1. Edite-To eat
2. Sunt-To be
3. Tollere-To lift
4. Condidit-To store up
5. Certat-To find
6. Findere-To divide

7. Secet-To sever

8. Laudat-To praise

10. Reficit-To rebuild

11. Est-To be

12. Spernit-To scorn
13. Demere-To remove

14. Iuuant-To help

15. Rupit-To break

16. Secernunt-To separate

17. Cohibet-To hold together

18. Inseres-To plant

19. Miscent-To mix

20. Urget-To urge

B. Nouns
1. Populo-People

2. Curriculo-Chariot

3. Palmaque-Palm (+ enclitic "que" meaning "and")

4. Honoribus-Honors

5. Sarculo-Hoe

6. Agros-Fields

7. Arbor-Tree

8. Nauta-Sailor

9. Arcu-Bow

10. Sagittis-Arrows

11. Loca-Location

12. Regina-Queen

13. Numeros-Numbers

14. Partem-Part
15. Lupus-Wolf

16. Leonum-Lions

17. Serpentes-Serpents

18. Aetas-Age

19. Terra-Earth

20. Deorum-Gods

C. Participles
1. Metuens-Fearing

2. Pulsanda-Beating

3. Deliberata-Considering

4. Detestata-Detesting

5. Bibendum-Drinking
D. Adjectives
1. Frigido-Cold

2. Dulce-Sweet

3. Nobilis-Noble

4. Inhospitalem-Inhospitable

5. Fatale-Deadly

Declension Check

Nouns

1. Die-5th declension, nominative

2. Pumicibus-2nd declension, ablative

3. Monstrum-2nd declension, nominative

4. Terra-1st declension, nominative

5. Spem-5th declension, accusative

Pronouns

1. Mihi-1st person singular

2. Tibi-2nd person singular

3. Hunc-1st person, singular

4. Illum-1st person, singular

5. Sui-1st person, plural

Adjectives

1. Asperas-1st declension, accusative

2. Fatale-3rd declension, nominative

3. Longam-1s declension, nominative

4. Nobilis-3rd declension, nominative

5. Frigido-1st declension, dative

Participles

1. Metuens-3rd declension

2. Adurgens-3rd declension

3. Pulsanda-1st declension

4. Bibendum-3rd declension

5. Dementis-2nd declension

Horace Odes 1.22-Formal and Structural Analysis

XXII

Integer uitae scelerisque purus

non eget Mauris iaculis neque arcu

nec uenenatis grauida sagittis,

     Fusce, pharetra,

siue per Syrtis iter aestuosas               5

siue facturus per inhospitalem

Caucasum uel quae loca fabulosus

     lambit Hydaspes.

Namque me silua lupus in Sabina,

dum meam canto Lalagem et ultra               10

terminum curis uagor expeditis,

     fugit inermem,

quale portentum neque militaris

Daunias latis alit aesculetis

nec Iubae tellus generat, leonum               15

     arida nutrix.

Pone me pigris ubi nulla campis

arbor aestiua recreatur aura,

quod latus mundi nebulae malusque

      Iuppiter urget;               20

pone sub curru nimium propinqui

solis in terra domibus negata:

dulce ridentem Lalagen amabo,

     dulce loquentem.

The man who is pure in his way of life

And is uninjured by wickedness, does not need

Darts of the Moors, nor bow or arrows loaded with

Venom, Fuscus,

Or if his way is through the glowing hot sandbanks of Syrtes

Or he makes his way through inhospitable Caucasus

Or the location which celebrates in story the

Hydaspes waters.

For and in fact I was singing of my Lalage

In my Sabine woods as a wolf of the boundary

Roamed while I was defenseless,

He fled with me unencumbered,

An omen not of the sort that the military

Daunus nurtures in her broad Italian oaks,

Nor the dry land  of Juba which produces

Nurses of lions.

Put me on the dull plains where no tree

Revives on the summer breeze,

A part of the world which mist and evil

Jupiter besets;

Place me under the chariot of the sun

Which draws too near the earth, in a place denied for

Dwellings: I will love my sweetly laughing

Sweetly prattling Lalage.

The poem's title is Horace's "Odes 1.22"

The themes of the poem are virtue and love. The theme is assumed through diction. The themes are interwoven through the story.

The setting of the poem is not specified, but the setting of Horace's anecdote is in Horace's woods. It takes place one day while Horace is walking through the forest.

The narrator is Horace, who is implicit.

Horace speaks in the first person, and this doesn't change throughout the poem.

The poem invites the audience to equate the narrator to the author.

The poem has an internal addressee, named Fuscus (Hor. Odes 1.22.4).

The poem does contain other characters, including a wolf (Hor. Odes 1.22.9), Lalage (Hor. Odes 1.22.10+23), Daunus (Hor. Odes 1.22.14), and lions (Hor. Odes 1.22.12). Horace reports of these characters' actions.

The mood of the poem is of peace and happiness.

The implied world outside the poem is one of little peace.

Something has happened in Fuscus' life, causing him to worry a lot. By the end of the poem, Fuscus has taken Horace's knowledge, and will hopefully live a happier, more peaceful life for it.

The allusions are to the Moors [(An African people) (Hor. Odes 1.22.2)], to Syrtes [(A desert place) (Hor. Odes 1.22.5)], to Caucasus [(an inhospitable place) (Hor. Odes 1.22.7)], Hydaspes [(A place of flowing waters told of in stories) (Hor. Odes 1.22.8)], Sabine woods [(the woods where Horace wandered in his anecdote) (Hor. Odes 1.22.9)], Daunus [(a fierce god) (Hor. Odes 1.22.14)], Jupiter [(king of the gods) (Hor. Odes 1.22.20)], and Lalage [(A reference to a poem by Sappho) (Hor. Odes 1.22.10+23)] . They are cited and reinforce the explicit meaning.

In this poem, Horace talks to Fuscus, telling him to slow down, and stop worrying so much about life. Horace tells him that good things happen to good people, and that Fuscus is a good person, so he should not worry. He cites as an example a time in the forest when a wolf came upon him, and let him be. He also tells Fuscus that he should need no weapons, as none should attack him, for he is a great guy. Horace goes further then to say that not matter where he lives, no matter what the problems, he will always be the same, relaxing, and loving his sweetly prattling Lalage.

In the fist and third stanza, there are 2 proper nouns in each stanza, and in the second stanza, there are three proper nouns. For the second three stanzas, there is only one proper noun in every stanza.  Horace tries to pull the readers in with many allusions that they can relate to, then he makes his point.

There is a powerful connotation between the words "scelerisque" and "purus" (Hor. Odes 1.22.1). They represent good and evil, respectively. Also the word "dulce" is used multiple times, representing all the sweet things in life.

The bows and arrows (Hor. Odes 1.22.2-3)symbolize war, which is what Horace is telling Fuscus not to do. Also, the wolf (Hor. Odes 1.22.9) symbolizes misfortune. It's passing by Horace shows how good things happen to good people, which is what Horace is trying to convince Fuscus of.

Many allusions show up in this poem. They include: The Moors, Syrtes, Caucasus, Hydaspes, Sabina, Daunus, Jupiter, and Lalage.The Moors, Syrtes, and Caucasus are all bad things in life, which Fuscus should not fear. Hydaspes is a river god of western India. The Sabina region is located in Italy. Daunus, in Greek mythology, is the most ancient among the ancestors of Turnus, Aeneas' major rival. Jupiter is the king of the gods, and Horace states that he would live even in a part of the world that could wage war with the king of the gods. Lalage means "to babble" or "to prattle." Horace loves Lalage, and will always sing about her. "Namque me silua lupus in Sabina, dum meam canto Lalagem et ultra terminum curis uagor expeditis, fugit inermem," and "pone sub curru nimium propinqui solis in terra domibus negata: dulce ridentem Lalagen amabo, dulce loquentem" support this. Sappho, the Greek canon poet, wrote a poem about Lalage, which this poem is based off of. Horace employs Sapphic stanza, an Aeolic verse form spanning four lines,  in this poem to further pay tribute to Sappho.

Horace makes a point to start the poem with the word "integer" (Hor. Odes 1.22.1), meaning "untouched." It already sets up the poem to be about those untouched by sin or evil. No matter whether Horace is in a burning zone or frozen pole, he will remain "untouched." He also, in line one, sets up the conflict of the poem, with "scelerisque purus." He places two very powerful words and forces next to each other to show the everlasting conflict between them. He shows Fuscus that both of them are "untouched" by the struggle between good and evil. He also ends the poem with "loquentem" (Hor. Odes 1.22.24), the participial form of "loquor," "to speak." He is referring to his joyful, carefree Lalage, and how they should both be like Lalage, and relax.

Horace, in the end, is just telling Fuscus that the gods guard those that are pure in heart, so he should stop worrying. He tells Fuscus of a time when a wolf came upon him defenseless, and let him be. Therefore, Fuscus should slow down and take life one problem at a time, like Horace, who is without a care in the world, singing of his "sweetly prattling" Lalage.

Horace 1.37-A Formal and Structural Analysis

XXXVII

Nunc est bibendum, nunc pede libero

pulsanda tellus, nunc Saliaribus

     ornare puluinar deorum

     tempus erat dapibus, sodales.

Antehac nefas depromere Caecubum               5

cellis auitis, dum Capitolio

     regina dementis ruinas

     funus et imperio parabat

contaminato cum grege turpium

morbo uirorum, quidlibet impotens               10

     sperare fortunaque dulci

     ebria. Sed minuit furorem

uix una sospes nauis ab ignibus,

mentemque lymphatam Mareotico

redegit in ueros timores               15

     Caesar, ab Italia uolantem

remis adurgens, accipiter uelut

mollis columbas aut leporem citus

     uenator in campis niualis

      Haemoniae, daret ut catenis               20

fatale monstrum. Quae generosius

perire quaerens nec muliebriter

     expauit ensem nec latentis

     classe cita reparauit oras,

ausa et iacentem uisere regiam               25

uoltu sereno, fortis et asperas

     tractare serpentes, ut atrum

     corpore conbiberet uenenum,

deliberata morte ferocior:

saeuis Liburnis scilicet inuidens               30

     priuata deduci superbo,

     non humilis mulier, triumpho.

Est-3rd person singular present active indicative of "esse" meaning "to be"

Ornare-present active infinitive meaning "to decorate"

Erat-3rd person singular imperfect active indicative of "esse" meaning "to be"

Depromere-present active infinitive meaning "to draw out"

Parabat-3rd person singular imperfect active indicative of "parare" meaning "to prepare"

Sperare-present active infinitive meaning "to hope"

Minuit-3rd person singular present active indicative of "minuere" meaning "to lessen"

Redegit-3rd person singular perfect active indicative of "redigere" meaning "to drive back"

Daret-3rd person singular imperfect active subjunctive of "dare" meaning "to give"

Perire-present active infinitive meaning "to die"

Expauit-3rd person singular perfect active indicative of "expavescere
 meaning "to become"

Reparauit-3rd person singular perfect active indicative of "reperare" meaning "to prepare"

Uisere-present active infinitive meaning "to visit"

Sereno-1st person singular present active indicative of "serenare" meaning "to clear up"

Tractare-present active infinitive meaning "to haul"

Conbiberet-3rd person singular imperfect active subjunctive of "conbibere" meaning "to drink completely"

Ferocior-1st person singular present passive indicative of "ferocire" meaning "to rampage"

Triumpho-1st person singular present active indicative of "triumphare" meaning "to triumph over"

Now is the time to drink, now the earth

Beats with the feet of free men, now,

Comrades, is the time for a splendid banquet

To decorate the couch of the gods.

Before this time, to fetch the Caecuban wine

From the ancestral wine cellar was a sin,  while deranged

Queen of the Capitol prepares for

The fall of death and authority.

You will defile the impure herd with

The sickness of venom, drunk was her hope

To do whatever was her fortune and

Pleasure. But her ships on a fire frenzy,

Barely a ship safe and sound,

In Marea, madness of mind

Was lessened to pure fear

Of Caesar, his oars close as she fled

From Italy, Just as a hawk hunts

A cowardly pigeon or a swift hare

In a snow-covered plain

Of Thessaly, so that he might give restraint

To a deadly monster. Anybody can seek

To die nobly:  She was not frightened

Like a woman by the sword, and her

Fast navy moved to no hidden coasts,

To visit her palace that had fallen to ruins

Boldly and with an expression of gladness, to handle

The snake was strong and violent, while

The body drank completely the deadly venom,

Being determined for her death:

Certainly jealous of the savage Liburnian galleys

Descended from her personal arrogance,

Humble was this woman who was not in triumph.

The poem has a title, it is Horace's "Odes 1.37"

The theme is to rejoice over the fall of a great and terrible woman, named Cleopatra.

The theme is directly stated.

There are two themes, and the poem shifts between them. The first theme is to celebrate the fall of the power-hungry Cleopatra (Hor. Odes 1.37.11), but the second theme paints Cleopatra in a nobler light, showing that she was bold (Hor. Odes 1.37.25) and unafraid even in death. The second theme is that even the terrible Cleopatra has some honorable characteristics.

The setting of the poem is in the Sea of Marea (Hor. Odes 1.37.14) near the city of Actium, where Cleopatra eventually loses and commits suicide. The battle took place September 2nd, 31 BC.

The narrator is someone making a speech at a celebration, so it might very well be Horace. The narrator is implicit and is third person omniscient.

The implied reader is the assumed audience.

The  characters in the poem are Cleopatra and Octavian, and these characters acted in their own right. Horace is reporting on their actions.

The mood of the poem is celebratory, then triumphant, then humble.

Octavian has just finished off Mark Antony and Cleopatra, ending the Final War of the Roman Republic.

The poem had just summarized the battle, and is anticipating a new Rome under Octavian.

The poem alludes to sweet Caecuban wine (Jor.Odes 1.37.5) in the celebration. It also refers to the Roman Capitol, on which Jupiter's temple was located (Hor. Odes 1.37.6). There is also an allusion to the Sea of Marea (Hor. Odes 1.37.14). These allusions reinforce the explicit meaning.

Horace's "Odes 1.37" tells of the Battle of Actium and celebrates Octavian's victory over Antony and Cleopatra.

Celebrations are starting (Hor. Odes 1.37.1-4) because of the fall of Cleopatra. Cleopatra was losing a naval battle (Hor. Odes 1.37.12), and so fled to Actium, with Octavian in hot pursuit. Cleopatra knew she had lost, so she committed suicide by asp bite (Hor. Odes 1.37.28)

The poem has a pretty solid pattern of two long lines with 11 syllables each, followed by two short lines with 10 syllables each. This pattern really only deviates at line seven (Hor. Odes 1.37).

The connotation of an animal like the hawk (Hor. Odes 1.37.17) is that of a predator animal, making Cleopatra the prey.

The asp and its bite (Hor. Odes 1.37.26-27) is used as a symbol of death. The venomous asp's bite is fatal. Cleopatra chose life over death, and found the fastest way possible to get there.

The poem alludes to the sweet Caecuban wine (Hor. Odes 1.37.5). It also alludes to the Sea of Marea (Hor. Odes 1.37.14), where Cleopatra was losing a naval battle to Octavian.

Horace chooses to begin the poem with word "nunc" (Hor. Odes 1.37.1), showing that he is enjoying living in the now, after the fall of Cleopatra. He also choose s to end the poem with the word "triumpho" (Hor. Odes 1.37.32), ending the poem on a good note, a note of looking forward to a better Rome, a note of celebration.

Horace chooses a little after the middle of the poem to completely switch sides on his opinions of Cleopatra, showing a little more that there are two sides to every story.