Catullus 16

Catullus 16 or Carmen 16 is a poem by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c. 84 BC – c. 54 BC). The poem, written in a hendecasyllabic (11-syllable) meter, was considered to be so sexually explicit following its rediscovery in the following centuries that a full English translation was not published until the 20th century.[1] The first line, Pēdīcābo ego vōs et irrumābō ('I will sodomize and face-fuck you'), sometimes used as a title, has been called "one of the filthiest expressions ever written in Latin—or in any other language".[2]

Carmen 16 is significant in literary history not only as an artistic work censored for its obscenity, but also because the poem raises questions about the proper relation of the poet, or his life, to the work.[3] Subsequent Latin poets referenced the poem not for its invective, but as a work exemplary of freedom of speech and obscene subject matter that challenged the culturally prevalent decorum or moral orthodoxy of the period. Ovid,[4] Pliny the Younger,[5] Martial,[6] and Apuleius[7] all invoked the authority of Catullus in asserting that while the poet himself should be a respectable person, his poetry should not be constrained.[8]

  1. ^ "Catullus Purified: A Brief History of Carmen 16". Archived from the original on 14 March 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2006.
  2. ^ Harry Mount, "Mark Lowe is right: The Romans said it better," Telegraph 25 Nov 2009, online. Archived 14 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mary Beard was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Ovid, Tristia 2.353–354.
  5. ^ Pliny the Younger, Epistulæ 4.14.
  6. ^ Martial, Epigrams 1.36.10–11.
  7. ^ Apuleius, Apologia 11.3.
  8. ^ Winter, Thomas Nelson (1973). "Catullus Purified: A Brief History of Carmen 16". Arethusa. 6: 257–265. Archived from the original on 14 March 2007. Retrieved 12 October 2006.