Ancient Love Themes in Contemporary Music
(Ancient Text by Longus, translated by Ronald McCail) and (Contemporary Song by Maroon 5) ParallelTextLyricsListen In Daphnis and Chloe, the main character’s lives are put against the backdrop of the natural world. While Daphnis and Chloe share romantic interest and Read More …
(Ancient Text by Ovid, translated by Rolphe Humphries) and (Contemporary Song by Tyler Farr) ParallelTextLyricsListen When you combine love with wine, the result of this mixture can either be pleasant or surprisingly bad. In the ancient as in the modern Read More …
(Ancient Text by Tibullus, translated by Bing And Cohen) and Just The Way You Are (Contemporary Song by Bruno Mars) ParallelTextLyricsListen Beauty is an important theme when discussing love because it is often the initial object of attraction between people. Read More …
(Ancient Text by Lucretius, translated by Martin Ferguson Smith) and Love Will Tear Us Apart (Contemporary Song by Joy Division) ParallelTextLyricsListen Joy Division’s song “Love Will Tear Us Apart” is bitter love song about how love will ruin a relationship. Read More …
(Ancient Text by Theocritus, translated by Peter Bing and Rip Cohen) and You Belong with Me (Contemporary Song by Taylor Swift) ParallelTextLyricsListen In both Theocritus’ idyll 11 and Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me” they present a narrator talking to Read More …
(Ancient Text by Euripides, translated by AJ Podlecki) and Before he Cheats (Contemporary Song by Carrie Underwood) ParallelTextLyricsListen In Euripides’ Medea, towards the end Medea find out that Jason has cheated on her and started a new life with a Read More …
(Ancient Text by Ovid, translated by Rolfe Humphries) and HOW TO BE A HEARTBREAKER (Contemporary Song by Marina and the Diamonds) ParallelTextLyricsListen In Ovid’s Ars Amatoria he writes about the ways to find and pick up women. He talks about Read More …
(Ancient Text by Virgil, translated by Robert Fitzgerald) and You’re Somebody Else (Contemporary Song by Flora Cash) ParallelTextLyricsListen When a lover changes their behavior suddenly, their partner is left reeling. What are they to make of this new behavior, is Read More …
(Ancient Text by Euripides, translated by A.J. Podlecki) and Burn (Contemporary Song by Phillipa Soo – Hamilton) ParallelTextLyricsListen The characters Eliza Hamilton and Medea share a remarkably similar plight. Both are won over by the words of their spouse, both Read More …
(Ancient Text by Catullus, translated by Peter Bing and Rip Cohen) and Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (Contemporary Song by Journey) ParallelTextLyricsListen Catullus and Journey give us a glimpse into the men who are waiting in the wings, just hoping to Read More …
(Ancient Text by Longus, translated by Ronald McCail) and Like a Virgin (Contemporary Song by Madonna) ParallelTextLyricsListen A popular concept in love is virginity and how it can be a somewhat new and scary experience this is seen both in Read More …
(Ancient Text by Longus, translated by Ronald McCail) and Like Real People Do (Contemporary Song by Hozier) ParallelTextLyricsListen Hozier and Longus both speak of the anguish in a budding relationship of wanting to be with one’s love, but not wholly Read More …
(Ancient Text by Ovid, translated by Humphries) and Heart Don’t Stand a Chance (Contemporary Song by Anderson Paak) ParallelTextLyricsListen The refrain of Heart Don’t Stand a Chance speaks to the confidence that Ovid purports in the line “be a confident Read More …
(Ancient Text by Catallus, translated by Bing and Cohen) and Say Goodbye (Contemporary Song by The Dave Matthews Band) ParallelTextLyricsListen Both of these passages are about ephemeral amounts of time between two lovers. In ‘Say Goodbye,’ the time period is Read More …
(Ancient Text by Terrence, translated by Not Available in class text) and Snow Outside (Contemporary Song by The Dave Matthews Band) ParallelTextLyricsListen These two passages resonate with each other in the sense that they are both about a lover giving Read More …
(Ancient Text by Ovid, translated by Rolfe Humphries) and You Belong With Me (Contemporary Song by Taylor Swift) ParallelTextLyricsListen In Ovid’s second book on love, he is talking about how to find a lover. As part of his advice he Read More …
(Ancient Text by Virgil, translated by Robert Fitzgerald) and It’s not u it’s me (Contemporary Song by Bea Miller) ParallelTextLyricsListen These two pieces reflect the common theme of leaving a relationship to better oneself and reach one’s goals and aspirations Read More …
(Ancient Text by Propertius, translated by Peter Bing, Rip Cohen) and Everybody’s Changing (Contemporary Song by Keane) ParallelTextLyricsListen Both Propertius and Keane talk about how people around them have changed. Propertius talks about this after losing his lover. He says, Read More …
(Ancient Text by Euripides, translated by A. J. Podlecki) and I knew you were trouble (Contemporary Song by Taylor Swift) ParallelTextLyricsListen A popular concept in love is betrayal and abandonment that leaves the other lost, confused and heartbroken. Of course Read More …
(Ancient Text by Plato, translated by Alexander Nehamas, Paul Woodruff) and Be Alright (Contemporary Song by Dean Lewis) ParallelTextLyricsListen In Symposium, many men are gathered and are discussing what love means to each of them. During Alcibiades speech, we see Read More …
(Ancient Text by Catullus, translated by Peter Bing, Rip Cohen) and Nicotine (Contemporary Song by Panic! at the Disco) ParallelTextLyricsListen Throughout Catullus’s 76 poem, we see him struggling to get over a relationship. He begins to describe it as some Read More …
(Ancient Text by Virgil, translated by Robert Fitzgerald) and Grenade (Contemporary Song by Bruno Mars) ParallelTextLyricsListen Unrequited love is no new concept looking at these two piece of works one can see that it was as prevalent today as it Read More …
(Ancient Text by Catullus, translated by Bing and Cohen) and The Next Ten Minutes (Contemporary Song by Jason Robert Brown) ParallelTextLyricsListen Catullus’ poem to Lesbia portrays his love for her by asking her to give him so many kisses that Read More …
(Ancient Text by Meleager, translated by Peter Bing and Rip Cohen) and Always in My Head (Contemporary Song by Coldplay) ParallelTextLyricsListen Both Coldplay’s song “Always in My Head” and Meleager’s poem G-P 41 are about lovers unsuccessfully trying to get Read More …
(Ancient Text by Ovid, translated by Rolfe Humphries) and The New Workout Plan (Contemporary Song by Kanye West) ParallelTextLyricsListen The Ars Amatoria acts as a guide to love, it answers all the core burning questions of the hopeful lover. Questions Read More …
(Ancient Text by Tibullus, translated by Bing and Cohen) and Make you feel pretty (Contemporary Song by lovelytheband) ParallelTextLyricsListen A common phrase in today’s society is “gold digger” when referencing a woman who seems to be after a man for Read More …
(Ancient Text by Lucretius, translated by Peter Bing and Rip Cohen) and Something in the Way You Move (Contemporary Song by Ellie Goulding) ParallelTextLyricsListen Lucretius criticizes love and claims that it is physically and emotionally damaging. He compares lovers to Read More …
(Ancient Text by Gaius Valerius Catullus, translated by Peter Bing and Rip Cohen) and Breathe Again (Contemporary Song by Sara Bareilles) ParallelTextLyricsListen Both Sara Bareilles and Catullus decide that the best way to escape love to is to leave it Read More …
(Ancient Text by Ovid, translated by Peter Bing and Rip Cohen) and Jessie’s Girl (Contemporary Song by Rick Springfield) ParallelTextLyricsListen Ovid’s poem describes how people always want things and people they can’t have, such as a girl who belongs to Read More …
(Ancient Text by Sappho, translated by Peter Bing and Rip Cohen) and Satisfied (Contemporary Song by Renee Elise-Goldsberry) ParallelTextLyricsListen Saphho’s poem describes how the narrator feels both physically and emotionally when she sees her lover with someone else. In this, Read More …
(Ancient Text by Lucretius, translated by Martin Ferguson Smith) and Crazy (Contemporary Song by Aerosmith) ParallelTextLyricsListen Eoin Sansevero Musical Parallel #2 Lucretius – Aerosmith The explicit nature of Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura was initially surprising to me. I haven’t ever Read More …
(Ancient Text by Theocritus, translated by Bing and Cohen) and All of Me (Contemporary Song by John Legend) ParallelTextLyricsListen Theocritus describes the Cyclops as one who would give anything to be with the one he loves, Galatea. At one point, Read More …
(Ancient Text by Callimachus, translated by Peter Bing, Rip Cohen) and There Stands the Glass (Contemporary Song by Webb Pierce) ParallelTextLyricsListen Drinking alcohol is an age-old remedy for the pains of love. The poem’s narrator, the stranger, and the subject Read More …
(Ancient Text by Theognis of Megara, translated by Peter Bing and Rip Cohen) and November Rain (Contemporary Song by Guns N’ Roses) ParallelTextLyricsListen Unrequited love is a theme that arises in many of the ancient texts, and honestly, is a Read More …
(Ancient Text by Sappho, translated by Peter Bing and Rip Cohen) and Dug My Heart (Contemporary Song by Garrett Borns) ParallelTextLyricsListen Both the ancient poem and the modern song characterize love as an almost painful force that physically affects a Read More …
(Ancient Text by Longus, translated by Ronald McCail) and It Must Be Love (Contemporary Song by Don Williams) ParallelTextLyricsListen Don Williams iconic “It Must Be Love” closely parallels Daphnis and Chloe’s realization about love after Philetas’ teachings. The simultaneous emotional Read More …
(Ancient Text by Ovid, translated by Rolfe Humphries) and Love is a Battlefield (Contemporary Song by Pat Benatar) ParallelTextLyricsListen Ovid and Pat Benatar both recount the difficult, emotionally challenging nature of love, with both metaphorically comparing love to a military Read More …
(Ancient Text by Ovid, translated by Rolfe Humphries) and Gold Digger [Clean] (Contemporary Song by Kanye West) ParallelTextLyricsListen Both Ovid and Kanye West are fascinated with the idea of money-hungry women and the manipulative acts women will commit to achieve Read More …
(Ancient Text by Plato, translated by Alexander Nehamas, Paul Woodruff) and I Melt with You (Contemporary Song by Modern English) ParallelTextLyricsListen Both Plato’s Symposium and “I Melt with You” use the verbiage “melt” to describe two lovers coming together physically, Read More …
(Ancient Text by Apollonius of Rhodes, translated by E.V. Rieu) and Tops (Contemporary Song by Rolling Stones) ParallelTextLyricsListen Both male narrators (Jason and the “I” in the Rolling Songs song) promise their female interlocutors fame, literally by “taking them to Read More …
(Ancient Text by Propertius II.8, translated by Peter Bing and Rip Cohen) and Run for your Life (Contemporary Song by Beatles) ParallelTextLyricsListen In Propertius’ poem, the speaker complains about his girl’s infidelity and how awful it is to see her Read More …