Parodia, renuntiatio amicitiae y renuntiatio amoris en Catulo XI

Abstract

We defend the thesis that Catullus XI directs his irony towards his addressees Furius and Aurelius. An internal analysis of this poem presents us with this irony. Moreover, besides ¡ irony there is also parody, which exacts a juxtaposition between two texts, the one which parodies —Catullus XI— and the parodied. Following D. Joly, we claim that the travelogue of vv. 1-12 parodies an offer that Catullus deems insincere from F. and A. to accompany him to distant lands. In the Roman Republic there was a social practice, the amicitia, that created the propositio amicitiae amongst other speech genres —a theoretical concept that we borrow from the Russian theorist Bakhtin—. This propositio was not always sincerely performed. Catullus’ answer to F. and A. is exaggerated, and parodic. Furthermore it’s well known that in Catullus’ epigrams love is often expressed in terms of amicitia: so, when he rejects parodically a false propositio amicitiae, is really making a renuntiatio amicitiae to F. and A.; and, if we assume that false friendship and betrayed love were very much alike to him, Catullus has not considered incongruent finishing the poem with his direct rejection of Lesbia’s love. In this way, a renuntiatio amoris is added to a parodic renuntiatio amicitiae, which strengthens the difficult unity of the poem.