latin poetry

latin love poetry for all

Catullus' Page will introduce you to some of the best short Latin poems (or perhaps remind you?) - in Latin. If you never learned Latin, or did so a long time ago - this is for you as well. With Horace and Catullus, you'll find the poem in Latin, but the magic of the web will make everything clear! Just follow the three simple steps:

1. If you are trying the Latin, each word has a small superscript number next to it. This will show you the order to take the words in.
2. As you move the mouse over a word, its meaning will appear in the grey status bar at the bottom of your browser page. No need to click.
3. Words in red also have links to pictures. Click to access.

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Poems you can choose: Horace: The Pyrrha Ode (Horace Odes 1.5) - escaping the clutches of a girl who's beautiful, blonde and deadly: but will other boys be as lucky? Catullus: Poem 5 (Vivamus, me Lesbia ...) - inviting his mistress to make love - after all, you're only young once. Catullus: Poem 7 (Quaeris quot mihi basiationes ...) Requested by Elizabeth. Can you ever have too much of a good thing? Not according to Catullus! Propertius: Cynthia (Propertius Book 1 Poem 1)- how did I manage to fall in love with such a bitch? Read my version, and compare it with the original. Sulpicia (Tandem venit amor) - the only woman whose poems have survived (and precious few of those). Being reevaluated - once dismissed as bad schoolgirl stuff, in 2000 AD she's starting to sound like Madonna! (or better P J (Polly) Harvey - Feb 2001)

What did it sound like? Hear for yourself! Metre: the sound of Latin poetry Find out how to read Latin poetry - here is a straightforward introduction to metre and scansion with actual examples to listen to. You may need to download RealPlayer. It's free and it's excellent! Click on the logo: Latin was never like this when I was at school!

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The Classics Pages are written and designed by Andrew Wilson
Comments, questions and contributions welcome.