How Does Catullus Present The Theme Of Death

Catullus presents an exceedingly realistic representation of death throughout his collection of poems. The poems are a life journey; there are moments where death is present and affects the mourning deeply. However, death is usually only in the back of one’s mind, there and yet forgotten. But at any moment, particularly the moments of content and satisfaction, a closer look can provide a deeper understanding of the omnipresence of death that Catullus so aptly incorporates into his work. The opening few poems have some of the most untroubled lines of all 116 poems. Aside, of course, from the death of Lesbia’s poor bird in the third poem. Even so, it is clear that the theme of death is going to be central from before then, most notably
In his 69th poem, he continues the death-motivated-sex-poetry by addressing Rufus and explaining to him why he cannot find success with women. Catullus suggests that the reason for his lack of sexual partners is that he smells quite rancid. Moreover, he suggests that Rufus should really clean up a bit so that he can have sex because for one, it would be unfortunate if Rufus went the rest of his life without experiencing it, dying a sexless man, and also because he might not be able to produce heirs if he can never marry and have sex. Again, with the unspoken threat of death looming over Rufus, the reader is reminded of the omnipresence of potential death both in life and in the poetry. (It also doesn’t hurt that he uses such diction as “kill off this brutal plague of noses” (69, ln 9) which, again, provokes death
In 78B, Catullus addresses Gallus. In this poem, his satisfaction actually comes from death itself in that Gallus will be infamous for as long as the poems are read, and Catullus is (appropriately, it seems) arrogant enough to believe that they will survive long after they both are dead. In what became his most famous poem, 85, Catullus explains that he hates and he loves in a saddened yet accepting tone that lets you know that, though the torture of it pains him, he has accepted and is satisfied with death by means of love. In 92 Catullus is so sure that Lesbia still loves him that he’s willing to bet his life and his salvation on it. He’s so sure because he talks badly of her too and loves her despite it. To someone who takes death so seriously, this makes his certainty seem riskier, but admirable. Finally, the 97th poem is an insult poem that says the subject’s mouth is a graveyard and any woman willing to be intimate with him is also probably willing to kiss a sick and dead body’s rear end. And thus concludes the main sources of death imagery, with the picture of a rotting corpse in every reader’s