Carmen 50 –

A charming (yet, as always, carefully contrived) glimpse of Neoteric poets at
play. For C. Licinius Calvus see glossary s.v. The poem may well be an early one:
there is a slight awkwardness and formality still-not to mention the excitementof novelty-in Catullus's relationship with him (Thomson 1997, 324; cf. Quinn
1970, 236). Did they meet in a tavern? They use Catullus's writing tablets (2), so
they are not cke{ Calvus; Catullus has to leave (7), so they are not in his house either.
The excitement and insomnia are very convincing: there are also unmistakable
erotic undertones in the language (Macleod 1973a, 294). They met during the
day, and Catullus was too worked up later to eat. We can picture them writing alternate
lines on the same tablet, each more recherche, allusive, and improper than
the last.