The lives of Catullus and Horace overlap by a dozen years in the
first century BC. Yet, though they are the undisputed masters of
the lyric voice in Roman poetry, Horace directly mentions his great
predecessor, Catullus, only once, and this reference has often been
taken as mocking. In fact, Horace's allusion, far from disparaging
Catullus, pays him a discreet compliment by suggesting the
challenge that his accomplishment presented to his successors,
including Horace himself. In "Poetic Interplay," the first
book-length study of Catullus's influence on Horace, Michael Putnam
shows that the earlier poet was probably the single most important
source of inspiration for Horace's "Odes," the later author's
magnum opus.
Except in some half-dozen poems, Catullus is not, technically,
writing lyric because his favored meters do not fall into that
category. Nonetheless, however disparate their preferred genres and
their stylistic usage, Horace found in the poetry of Catullus,
whatever its mode of presentation, a constant stimulus for his
imagination. And, despite the differences between the two poets,
Putnam's close readings reveal that many of Horace's poems echo
Catullus verbally, thematically, or both. By illustrating how
Horace often found his own voice even as he acknowledged Catullus's
genius, Putnam guides us to a deeper appreciation of the earlier
poet as well.
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