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Grammar and Poetry in the Late Republic

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Grammar and Poetry in the Late Republic University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2014 The Way That Our Catullus Walked: Grammar and Poetry in the Late Republic Samuel David Beckelhymer University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Classics Commons Recommended Citation Beckelhymer, Samuel David, "The Way That Our Catullus Walked: Grammar and Poetry in the Late Republic" (2014). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 1205. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1205 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1205 For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Way That Our Catullus Walked: Grammar and Poetry in the Late Republic Abstract This dissertation considers the poetry of Catullus and its often express concerns with matters of language through the lens of the Roman grammatical tradition. I argue that in Latin poetry, and in Latin literature more broadly, there existed a persistent interest in discussing linguistic matters--owing in large part to an early imitation of Greek authors who engaged openly with their language--and that this interest was articulated in ways that recall the figure of the professional grammaticus and the ars grammatica, the scientific study of the Latin language. I maintain that this interest becomes particularly widespread during the final decades of the Roman Republic, and so I present Catullus as a particularly representative example of this phenomenon. In each chapter I examine Catullus' poetry with reference to a different aspect of the grammaticus' trade. The first chapter considers the concept of latinitas, an idealized form of Latin that was discussed by professional grammatici, and coordinates Catullus' interaction with foreign words, morphology and phonology with similar approaches to the discussion of language as they are expressed by other poets and prose authors. In the second chapter I examine one of Catullus' most ambitious poems, his translation of Callimachus' "Lock of Berenices", and argue that the philological aspects of his translation are typical of the activity and concerns of professional grammatici and of Latin translators of Greek more generally. In the final chapter I consider the possibility that traces of contact with certain known figures from the professional sphere of grammatica, Parthenius of Nicaea and Valerius Cato, can be detected in Catullus' verses, and I use these possible traces to explore an array of features of Catullan poetic craft. In each instance I demonstrate first that grammatical interests can be identified in Catullus' ersesv and that these interests align with the ways in which other Latin authors engage with language, and second that, by reading the poet in this way, we situate him and his poetry within a far more expansive literary and cultural phenomenon that gestures towards the lasting influence of the ars grammatica. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Classical Studies First Advisor Joseph Farrell Keywords Catullus, grammar, Latin poetry Subject Categories Classics This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1205 THE WAY THAT OUR CATULLUS WALKED: GRAMMAR AND POETRY IN THE LATE REPUBLIC Samuel D. Beckelhymer A DISSERTATION in Classical Studies Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2014 Supervisor of Dissertation ________________________ Joseph Farrell Professor of Classical Studies Graduate Group Chairperson ________________________ Emily Wilson, Associate Professor of Classical Studies Dissertation Committee Cynthia Damon, Professor of Classical Studies James Ker, Associate Professor of Classical Studies THE WAY THAT OUR CATULLUS WALKED: GRAMMAR AND POETRY IN THE LATE REPUBLIC © 2014 Samuel David Beckelhymer iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It will be difficult if not impossible to express completely and sincerely in the span of just a few paragraphs the depth of my gratitude for the many people who have supported and assisted me in bringing this project to completion, but I will try nevertheless. The first and greatest share of thanks is owed to the members of the dissertation committee, Cynthia Damon, James Ker, and especially the chair of the committee Joe Farrell. Simply put, this dissertation would not exist were it not for their unwavering support and unfailing generosity. Their shrewd and illuminative criticism sustained and directed the thesis from beginning to end, and they have all left a profound imprint not just on this dissertation but on the ways in which I will engage with literature and scholarship in the future as well. I thank James for reminding me constantly to step back from the details and to consider the project and its place in scholarship from without. I thank Cynthia for her acutely perceptive readings of my work, and for inspiring me with her profoundly intimate understanding of the Latin language. Joe’s contribution to this thesis cannot be overstated. It was in his seminar on Republican epic during my first year at Penn that the earliest germ of interest in grammatica took hold, and then under his direction in an independent study of the Roman grammatical tradition that the scope of the dissertation took shape. He has generously offered his attention and his learning to all that I have written, and all that I have written has benefited and improved through his reading and his commentary. I thank him especially for his particular ability to help me realize and articulate my own ideas during our numerous discussions of Latin poetry. iv Two people from outside the committee are due similar recognition: Sarah Culpepper Stroup, who first taught me to love to read Catullus and his poetry at the University of Washington; and Emily Wilson, who was an early and guiding voice as the thesis first took root in our prospectus workshop. The dissertation gladly bears a title based on her suggestion. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the rest of department and the greater Penn community as well, for I consider myself privileged to have been a part of so rich and open an academic environment. In particular Bridget Murnaghan, Ralph Rosen, Peter Struck, and Don Ringe have been massively influential on my development as a teacher and a scholar and are due my express thanks. I will also extend this gratitude to my fellow graduate students in ancient studies, especially to the members of my cohort, Matt Farmer, Ginna Closs and Paul Jungwirth, who have been a constant source of intellectual and personal support. Theirs are not the only friendships that have sustained me during my time at Penn, and I will add Kyle Mahoney, Heather Elomaa, Sarah Scullin, Jason Nethercut, Benjamin L. Truesdale, and Caroline Bishop to a list that could be considerably longer. Thanks of a slightly different kind are in order for my family. First to my parents, Michael and Norri Beckelhymer; I am utterly incapable of expressing the degree to which any success or accomplishment in my life must be credited to their chronic and unfaltering love and support. To my two younger siblings, Abram and Emily; I count myself impossibly lucky to be able to say that I watched two of my closest friends grow up right before my eyes. And to my older brother Jacob; ever since he abandoned trying v to prevent my learning to walk some 30 years ago, he has remained my first and best friend, my surest ally, and the most receptive ear for all of my nugae. Finally, I would like to thank my partner Sarah Beckmann. She has been the inimitable and inexhaustible source of joy, encouragement and silliness that has kept me sane and happy during this long process. Without her love and her patience I could not hope to have reached this point. vi ABSTRACT THE WAY THAT OUR CATULLUS WALKED: GRAMMAR AND POETRY IN THE LATE REPUBLIC Samuel D. Beckelhymer Joseph Farrell This dissertation considers the poetry of Catullus and its often express concerns with matters of language through the lens of the Roman grammatical tradition. I argue that in Latin poetry, and in Latin literature more broadly, there existed a persistent interest in discussing linguistic matters—owing in large part to an early imitation of Greek authors who engaged openly with their language—and that this interest was articulated in ways that recall the figure of the professional grammaticus and the ars grammatica, the scientific study of the Latin language. I maintain that this interest becomes particularly widespread during the final decades of the Roman Republic, and so I present Catullus as a particularly representative example of this phenomenon. In each chapter I examine Catullus’ poetry with reference to a different aspect of the grammaticus’ trade. The first chapter considers the concept of latinitas, an idealized form of Latin that was discussed by professional grammatici, and coordinates Catullus’ interaction with foreign words, morphology and phonology with similar approaches to the discussion of language as they are expressed by other poets and prose authors. In the second chapter I examine one of Catullus’ most ambitious poems, his translation of Callimachus’ Βερενίκης πλόκαμος, and argue that the philological aspects of his translation are typical of the activity and concerns of professional grammatici and of Latin translators of Greek more
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