Compare and Contrast the Poems of Catullus and Petrarch

Compare and Contrast the Poems of Catullus and Petrarch

Petrarch and Catullus are from two different time periods. From what I concluded from Petrarch's poems, he writes about what he feels. If he feels blessed, then he'll write down what he is thankful for that day. Catullus, on the other hand, mainly writes about women, love, and hate. All of his poems have something to do with those three things in some kind of fashion or form. Petrarch and Catullus's poems are different in more ways than they are similar. Most of the time their poems have different meanings, but every once in a while they will be talking about the same thing and have the same feelings about their specific topic.

Sonnet 90 from Petrarch is probably one of my favorite poems. It talks about the different beauties of a woman; the way her hair would fly free, the way she walked, the way she talked and the way her eyes were brighter than the radiant west (Petrarch 1-11). Sonnet 5 from Catullus is one of my favorites from him. It's talking about physically loving a woman and cherishing every moment he gets to spend with her. The two poems are alike in how they cherish a woman's body and how they appreciate her. The two are different in how they view women. Petrarch views a woman as beautiful and perfect, but he also knows that no matter how perfect a woman may seem to be, she will have her flaws. Catullus, on the other hand, just thought that women were perfect all the time, no matter what.

Sonnet 1 by Petrarch is about a man who sees his love naked for the first time and he is just in complete awe and he sees just how beautiful she really is. "So that, now heaven's fires overspill, she made me tremble with an amorous chill (Poem Hunter, 7-8). In Sonnet 86 by Catullus, Catullus is taken aback with his mistress's beauty. "Now Lesbia is stunning, for Lesbia's beauty is total: and by that sum all other women are diminished." (Catullus, 5-6). Both poems are about their woman being the most beautiful woman out there. The men think no other woman could compare to their lover no matter what other people say. And that is what I believe is called 'true love'.

At this point in time, I have changed my view of Catullus and his poems. In Sonnet 16, Catullus is so mad that some people don't like his poems and are saying that he isn't a real man since he writes poems. "I'll push your sh*t and stuff your face--Aurelius, you c*cksucker, Furius, you little b*tch--since you think that my little poems have gone soft and I must be too upright!"(Negenborn, 1-4). I think the main difference in Petrarch and Catullus is that Petrarch took his insults and put them to better use and wrote better poems, when Catullus put his anger from the insults in the poems it just made him sound like an idiot. I liked Catullus's poems in the beginning, but now that I have read other poems off the internet I think I like Petrarch a lot better.

Petrarch's poems are very relaxing to read. Most are about nature's beautiful aspects. "Sounding in the glade, or the waters murmuring in the roots of the grass." (Poem Hunter, III, 10-11). Reading a few lines about Mother Nature could relax anyone and I think that is what is great about Petrarch's poems. Catullus's poems are so down and depressing. Let's hope no one reads his poems if they are sad, because his poems would just make things worse. Catullus also pities himself which should not be reflected in his poems. "Poor Catullus, you must stop being silly, and count as lost what you see is lost." (Negen Born, 8, 1-2). Catullus wants his readers to pity him when in the end he should want them to respect his poetry. Petrarch has the respect from his readers and that I believe is from not pitying himself when he receives criticism from some not so happy readers.

In Sonnet 85, Catullus writes two lines. "I hate and love. And if you should ask how I do both, I couldn't say; but I feel it, and it shivers me."(Catullus, 85). To me a two line stanza is pointless. So much more could have been said about love and