The article reflects on the author's awakening to the layered complexities of Roman poetry through the work of poet Catullus. It recounts a pivotal moment during a Latin class where an ordinary textbook turned out to reveal the obscenity and raw emotion embedded in Catullus's verse. The poem being analyzed hints at social commentary and personal conflict, challenging the assumption that Roman poetry is merely about lofty themes. The author illustrates how this encounter opened a doorway to a more nuanced appreciation of classical literature, filled with multifaceted human experiences.
Until that moment, 'Two Centuries of Roman Poetry' had struck me as harmless enough: a collection of excerpts from the major Latin poets, pitched to the reading level of an intermediate college Latin student.
In class that morning, I'd been called on to sight-translate a handful of lines by Gaius Valerius Catullus, the first-century-B.C.E. poet who, the professor had warned us, was among the most erudite and sophisticated.
But something about his discomfiture had made me curious. That evening, in the library, I took down a Latin dictionary from the shelf and flipped to 'I's.
...the word I'd been puzzling over all day seemed to be leering back at me. Was it something to do with blow jobs?
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