In class we have been mapping out a putative chronology of the Lesbia poems of Catullus. We are well aware of the pitfalls of the biographical fallacy, and also -- even assuming total historicity here -- of the inevitable limitations of our knowledge about the relationship.
That said, there does seem to be some trajectory to this relationship as Catullus portrays it in his poems. This does not automatically mean that the relationship 'ends' -- and indeed the serious suggestion was offered (in class) that this sort of love *never* ends.
Discuss -- either with specific relation to Catullus, or in more general/universal terms, or both.
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Catullus writes love, not of love, but love lived. The pain and pleasure that emanate from his carefully crafted words could only stem from one embraced and subsequently scorned. Anyone who has tasted the poisonously sweet waters of love can understand the tantalization of limerence. There is no greater enjoyment in life than experiencing the world through the heightened senses of new love. Through the embrace of a new lover slumber is violently and hastily displaced by an insatiable need to live. In limerence the senses are heightened in accordance with a desire for the beloved. The sense of sight is sharpened to betake the physical beauty of the beloved; sense of smell is heightened as we yearn to inhale the unfamiliar scents; sense of hearing is attenuated to every nuance of the beloved's voice; touch becomes ever more sensitive to the caress; and taste becomes such that a kiss will linger for weeks without abatement. This heightening of senses transcends interaction with the beloved, however, and allows the lover to experience the world in new light, as if awoken from a deep sleep.Thus, colors are brighter, smells sweeter, taste more tantalizing. The joys of limerence are rivaled by none. But then it fades. Senses become accustomed to the beloved, and what was once revered is taken for granted. As the senses become accustomed and dulled to the beloved, likewise they once again become dulled to the world, and the lover ceases to be awake, entering the sorrowful state of slumber. But if the greatest life has to offer can be found in limerence, how can one make this awakening of the soul persist? I have come up with two ways:
1) True Love - yes, the stuff of fairy tales. True Love is perpetual limerence.Perhaps I am hopeless in my desire for this to truly exist, but I will never be argued out of my search.
2) False True Love - think Catullus or Romeo & Juliet. Relationships which are ended before limerence has ended, leaving one or both lovers in a state of belief that the awakening of soul could have lasted forever. Romeo and Juliet, the most heralded of lovers, certainly never had a chance to grow accustomed to one another. It is pleasing to believe that their love would have lasted forever with no decline; it is realistic to believe that they would have been disgusted with each other by 16. And then Catullus. Catullus was deep in the throes of limerence when his lover casually tossed him aside, leaving him in limerence limbo. If only he could recapture that love, recapture just one embrace. Recapture the opportunity to let limerence fade. But then we would be left without Catullus.
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