Catullus: Poems

Catullus: Poems, by Gaius Valerius Catullus, delves into the life and work of one of ancient Rome’s most gifted, versatile, and passionate poets. Catullus, who lived from approximately 84 to 54 BC, was part of a group of young poets known as the 'neoterics' who embraced Hellenistic forms to forge a new literary style during a period of radical social change at the end of the Roman Republic.

This comprehensive edition includes the complete, unabridged, and unbowdlerised poems of Catullus and is considered the definitive student edition of his work. The extensive introduction explores various topics, including Catullus' literary paramour Lesbia, the scant biographical certainties about Catullus' life, and other figures from the contemporary political scene.

Additionally, the introduction provides a brief overview of the poems' textual history, discussion of Catullus' style across the collection, and linguistic discussions on morphology, vocabulary, syntax, and metre.

The commentary notes include individual introductions and bibliographies for each poem, along with line-by-line notes that translate difficult phrases and gloss obscure words. For those seeking further insight, the commentary also offers detailed explanations of poetic, structural, and contextual points.