#trying to make a solid historical figure from the contradictory self representation presented in his work: why are we doing this | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fluentisonus · 1 year

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shaking academics by the lapels like shut up about trying to reconstruct a historically accurate account of catullus' life with a factual chronology shut up about separating 'truth' from 'fiction' and the historical figure from the poetic one

#I don't care + it's impossible to know + it's not even a useful framework for looking at his poems #thoughts #fitting catullus into the cultural world of late republican rome & looking at his interaction w it: good. beloved. I do this all the time #trying to make a solid historical figure from the contradictory self representation presented in his work: why are we doing this #the exception to this is when it's funney or I like it. but like let's not be too serious here #<- person who's trying to find articles about time in catullus' poetry & finding nothing but futile attempts to reconstruct his life

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