Catullus 85

Catullus 85 is a poem by the Roman poet Catullus for his lover Lesbia.

Ōdī et amō. Quārē id faciam fortasse requīris.
Nesciŏ, sed fierī sentiō et excrucior.[1]

I hate and I love. Why I do this, perhaps you ask.
I know not, but I feel it happening and I am tortured.[1]

Its declaration of conflicting feelings "I hate and I love" (in Latin, Odi et amo) is renowned for its force and brevity.

The meter of the poem is the elegiac couplet.

–  u  u /  –   –  /   –   u u / –   –  /  –  u  u /   – –
Ōd'et a / mō. Quā / r'id faci / am for / tasse re / quīris.
 
 – u u  /  –  u u /  – /  –   u  u  / –   u  u  / –
Nesciŏ, / sed fie / rī / sen ti' et / ex cru ci / or.[2]

Musical settings

References

  1. C. Valerius Catullus. "Poem 85". Carmina. Translated by Leonard C. Smithers. Perseus Project. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  2. Kitchell, Kenneth F., Jr.; Smith, Sean (2006). Catullus: A Legamus Transitional Reader. p. xxix. ISBN 978-0-86516-634-9. Retrieved April 17, 2006.
  3. "Odi et amo" by Jóhann Jóhannsson on YouTube
  4. "Wrecking Ball" (Eric Whitacre Singers & Marius Beck) on YouTube
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