Exam Part Two

Now is the time for drinking, now is the time to beat your
foot against the measure, now is the time to ornate the feast
couch of the god Saliaribus, friends.

Before this it was moreover a sin to take down the Concubine,
Whose queen threatened to burn down the capital to ruins with
Her prepared power

and contaminating swarm of disease, and by hopes
sweet Fortunes salts would happen. But one small

Boat would escape the fire, sailing from the rough seas
And made mad by the Maerotic grape she fell back in
fear of Caesar, pursued through Italy

By the fatal omens. Of noble birth without woman's anxiety
She drove her fleet to flee with commands not to be ever spoken of,

Strictly and seriously she stood like a queen, being strong she
harshly took the snake, which took the last drink from her body,

Deliberately killing her soul; it is certain we took the eye of Libernus
(an evil eye) against her as she was no humble slave, nor a woman, but a Roman Hero.

Poetry is a form of art that has been around for millennia, and it has only expanded since its origins during the dawn of language itself. Poetry can be carried out in various forms of readings whether they be through sight reading, reading aloud, singing through music, or even acting them out through theatre. All of these various forms of emitting the main message of the poem are equally right in the way that they are done. Poetry was initially the way of telling stories to the younger generation as a way of getting them to remember and understand the stories that were being told. All of the Greek histories were told through poems and said aloud for people memorize and tell all who had not heard the story yet. Some of the most famous quotes and sayings weren't just discussed in a normal conversation, they were rather said in times of despair or pressured situations where the author conjured a most graceful sentence or two to present grace to a dire situation. If quotes such as these had presented themselves in a normal situation, they would not have become as famous as they are today and surely would not have been remembered. This example is also very similar to that of Horace's poem 1.37 where a very dire situation was taking place throughout the empire but was eventually solved through Caesar's conquering of Marc Antony and Cleopatra. His poem exerts a message of celebration but also mourning as he shows the Roman side of the victory but also a part of the Egyptian side, who had been conquered. Through this method he creates an entertaining an very thorough account of the unification of the Roman Empire under Augustus. Poetry, like a piece of artwork, cannot casually be told by one person to another, instead it must be displayed for all to see and truly understand the author's true meaning so that everyone may remember what happened.
If Horace would have casually told the story, as opposed to writing it in a poetic form, he most likely would not have received acclaim or recognition that he did after he published it, unlike Maecenas who wrote in a plain tone during his entire multiple volume of books. Horace begins his poem by initially celebrating the victory that they have just scored against Antony's forces and Cleopatra. He says that this victory causes a time for celebration, music, and even a call for the feast at the couch of Saliarbus. He then goes on to account the destruction that Cleopatra and her uncivilized horde almost caused to the Roman people and capital, but fortunately Caesar was there to save them and Roman civilization. He describes her initially as a whore who was grieved with power and used all that she had, but by misuse. Her power came to an end through a great sea battle (Battle of Actium) where she and Antony were the only ones to escape, which shows that she abandoned her people like an evil queen . He then changes tone as he starts to call her misunderstood as she had no mother during her childhood, and once she recognized her folly she honorably took her own life. For doing this Horace ordains her a true Roman hero.
There is one large parallel in Horace 1.37, and that is the contrast between the beginning and end of the poem. Without the poetic form of Horace's writing, the true essence of what he is trying to describe Cleopatra as could not be accomplished. In the beginning of the poem he describes Cleopatra as a power hungry whore who does not know how to use her power and rather misuses it to destroy the upright Roman civilization. For this, she must be utterly destroyed. She then disgraces herself even more as she leaves her soldiers behind to save herself. After this, though, Horace's tone changes and he describes her as a Roman hero for not panicking and excepting her mistakes and standing strong in her suicide. These contrasts serve the true tone of the poem.
The connotations delivered in Horace are that of things are not what they seem. Without being able to imagine or see Horace's words in your head, one would not be able to grasp the idea that there is such a stark contrast between the good and the bad of Cleopatra. When Horace first describes Cleopatra, he is describing her in the eye of a typical Republican Roman who wishes to uphold the Republic at all costs, therefore casting Cleopatra as an evil person in their eyes. When he finishes berating her, he then praises her for what the Roman's cast as an idolized Roman Hero in Roman society. This shows that people who hold such ideals so close to them become blind with rage and cannot see what they really idolize is what they hate. What they hate, though, is also what they fear and therefore they cannot truly understand the true stoicism and heroism of their enemy when facing death. This also shows that enemies are also always cast in the eye of evil no matter how close to the morals and principles of Roman civilization may be held by the enemy. The true eye of propaganda is drawn up by this poem and shown in its true light to the public.
Symbols in the poems also give off more information than is actually said in poetry, whereas if one were to just casually say or refer to a symbol to another person it would not make sense to the person. One such symbol is the couch of Saliaribus, which he uses to symbolize the victory over the Egyptians. This couch was only used for great feasts to celebrate only the greatest of victories over the Roman's enemies. The couch is used to symbolize how great a victory this really is. The Maerotic grape is also another symbol as it shows the better quality of Roman goods over Egyptian goods. The Maerotic grape is a cheaper and less fine tasting grape than that of the Roman's. Horace uses this to show that the poor products from which she took in her own country created her own demise. This can be expanded to say that it wasn't just the Roman wine over the Egyptian wine that made her lose, but Roman training, weapons, and skill over everything that the Egyptians had. This is another example of how poetry is very important in understanding history and the like.
Horace refers to various places and events in his poem to help the reader better understand what is going on. He uses the Battle of Actium midway through the poem and calls it the fiery battle of the sea in his poem. In the actual battle Antony and Cleopatra were the only ones to escape, just as Horace says in his poem, and they went back to Egypt. After this battle Antony fell on his sword while Cleopatra took her life by the serpents tongue. He also refers to the Roman capital which was the heart and soul of the Roman empire. It was the very central part of Roman civilization and if it fell so would the rest of the empire. Some 1,000,000 people eventually ended up living in Rome as it was the center of architecture, art, and flourishment of other important divisions of Roman civilization. Another reference is to the sweet salts of fortune which were used by fortune tellers or oracles to tell what the omens were for the person to whom it was directed towards. Such a big part of everyday life was used in this instance to make the poem seem more personal to the reader.
Horace is very careful in the way that he sets up his poem, and this method truly demonstrates the gracefulness that can only be achieved through poetry. Horace sets up the poem so that the Roman's can feel good about their victory over the Egyptians. After this he puts them in a mood of mournfulness as they have just killed what he calls a Roman hero. He uses the beginning to almost compare the Romans to that of Cleopatra, as they are both mad with wine during partying and also feast with gods during victories. He then shows that they have killed something greater than themselves, as they have destroyed someone that they hold very dear to their ideals, so they have essentially killed what they hold very dear to them. They killed what their civilization hold most dear; a Roman Hero.
Poetry can only be said through grace and its true artful ways. It must be shown and displayed to others, no just said. Horace uses parallels to show the stark contrast in ideals that are present in their life and to present a very valid point that both the Roman's and Cleopatra are essentially the same. He also uses connotations to get a point across, almost as a subliminal message so that he cannot be directly caught by the officials. He also uses symbols and references to make the poem more personal to the reader so that they can better understand it. He also uses his skill, which those who create poetry must have, to craft a story in which one must think to understand the message. This shows that poetry is more than just words, it is a lesson in art; one for the ages. Poetry, like a piece of artwork, cannot casually be told by one person to another, instead it must be displayed for all to see and truly understand the author's true meaning so that everyone may remember what happened.