Parallels

In the tale of Daphnis and Chloe by Longus discusses the first experiences in love of a young couple, and so does the song “Wet Dreamz” by J. Cole.  In Daphnis and Chloe, translated by Paul Turner, we can see one part in the work where Daphnis describes Chloe with “…her hair was as golden as fire, that her eyes were as big as the eyes of an ox, and that her complexion was really whiter than the milk of the goats”(page 30), and that “The only person he would talk to was Chloe; and if ever he was apart from her and alone, he would rave away to himself…”(Page 31).  We can see similar ideas in the song “Wet Dreams”, where J. Cole describes his love interest with “Long hair, brown skin with the fat *ss/…/‘Cause when I seen ‘em thighs on her and them hips on her and them lips on her/Got me daydreaming, man what”, we can see a similar fascination with the beautiful and stunning beauty of his love interest as well.  Also in the song, J. Cole describes how his love “Sat beside me, used to laugh at mad jokes/…It started off so innocent/She had a vibe and a n*gga started digging it/I was a youngin’ straight crushing trine play this sh*t cool/But a n*gga couldn’t wait to get to school”.  We can see in this later quote a similar “vibe” and intimate connection between J. Cole and his love interest as with Daphnis and Chloe, as well as the reciprocation of his attempts to bond with their respective crushes.  Both Daphnis and J. Cole also express this idea of wanting to always be present with their interest, and if they did happen to be away, either waiting in desperation to reunite or simply going mad.

One distinction, however, is the characterization of these two loves.  J. Cole uses the rest of this song to describe the process of losing his virginity, and this sexualization of the first love is definitely more common in our society of today rather than in the time of Daphnis and Chloe.  By contrast, the love present between both Daphnis and Chloe, while certainly romantic in nature, does contain a certain innocence with their discussions of sexual nature. The manner in which they learn how to express their love for each other, namely through kissing and then sex as learned from Philetas and then Lycaenium, is more innocent than the manner in which J. Cole learns, which he describes as “…watching pornos tryin’ see just how to stroke right/Practice putting condoms on, how it go right”.

“…her hair was as golden as fire, that her eyes were as big as the eyes of an ox, and that her complexion was really whiter than the milk of the goats”(page 30)
“The only person he would talk to was Chloe; and if ever he was apart from her and alone, he would rave away to himself…”(Page 31)

The ancient text by Propertius is very similar to the modern song “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles, in that they are both well known artists for writing about their lovers. We can see similarities in that both authors claim that they will not give into what their lovers want, and instead create a message about how awful and deceitful their lovers are, essentially ruining their reputation. Propertius writes “Is this fair, that you’re on the lips of all Rome, Cynthia?…Out of so many cheating girls, I’ll find one who’d like to become known through my songs,” indicating that Propertius is well known for writing about his lovers, and hints that Cynthia desires to be the center of gossip in Rome. It can be interpreted then that Cynthia used Propertius in order to become infamous, and probably hoped he would write a love poem about her to increase her fame. Cynthia and Bareilles’s lover are both manipulative and bad, noticed when Bareilles writes, “I learned the hard way, That they all say, Things you want to hear” and “You and your twisted words, Your help just hurts, You are not what I thought you were….Convince me to please you.” Both authors also proclaim that they will not give into what their lovers want. For Bareilles it’s “I’m not gonna write you a love song, ‘Cause you asked for it, ‘Cause you need one, you see.” The text also indicates that Bareilles’s lover desires a love song in order to become famously known as a muse for one of her love songs. Bareilles’s claim that she’s “not gonna write you a love song” also indicates the expectation of lovers or ex’s to receive a love song, which usually expresses the heartache or loss of the author. By claiming she’s not going to write one, Bareilles is stating that she is not heavily effected by the breakup while also landing an insult to the ex-lover. Propertius also claims he’s not gonna become a desperate or angry ex, which Cynthia would have loved since it would showcase how desirable she is, “But I won’t tear the clothes from your perjured body, my anger won’t break your bolted doors, I wouldn’t, in my rage, tear out your braided tresses, or dare to hurt you with my powerful thumbs.” Both authors are in a way giving into what their lovers had initially wanted, but have twisted it in their own way in order to expose their lovers and showcase their own power and confidence. Bareilles exposes her lover that he was manipulative and “not who I thought you were”, while Propertius writes “So I’ll write what your whole life can’t delete: Cynthia’s beauty, great; Cynthia’s world, light…this verse will make you pale.” Propertius intentionally knows that writing these negative things about Cynthia will stain her reputation, and saying that her words are “light” means that they have no meaning or promise to them, which can cause problems with her and her future lover.

The differences between the two authors is that Propertius has been cheated by Cynthia and are separated, while it is unclear whether Bareilles is still with her lover, since her lover threatens to leave her unless she writes her a love song, “I’m not gonna write you a love song, ‘Cause you tell me it’s, Make or breaking this, If you’re on your way.” 

2.5 (page 246)

(1)Is this fair, that you’re on the lips of all Rome, Cynthia? that you live in open shame? Is this what I earned the right to expect? You liar, you’ll pay.

(5)Out of so many cheating girls, I’ll find one who’d like to become known through my songs. 

(21)But I won’t tear the clothes from your perjured body, my anger won’t break your bolted doors, I wouldn’t, in my rage, tear out your braided tresses, or dare to hurt you with my powerful thumbs

(27)So I’ll write what your whole life can’t delete: Cynthia’s beauty, great; Cynthia’s world, light
(30)this verse will make you pale

In the works of Lucretius’ On the Nature of Things, one can see the detrimental effects of love on the affected, as “The body seeks out the object that has wounded the mind with love”(pg. 128) and lovers “…tightly squeeze the object of their desire and cause bodily pain, often driving their teeth into one another’s lips…”(pg. 129).  One can see a somewhat similar sentiment in the song “My Kind of Crazy” by Brantley Gilbert, with descriptions of “Pokin’ out her kip and bitin’ mine when we kiss” and “She never lets me rest/ She keeps me up all night/ Known to roll me off the bed/ And steal the covers on my side”.  From these quotes, there is a feeling that Brantley Gilbert is suffering on a physical level from this relationship, and suffering similarly to how Lucretius predicted.

However, especially given the more humorous latter part of the second quote, one can sense a more lighthearted sense and almost appreciation from Brantley Gilbert.  While Lucretius warns us about the dangerous effects of Venus, Gilbert seems to totally embrace this aspect of his relationship.  With the recurring lines of “Yeah but she’s my kinda crazy/…/She’s too cute to get on my last nerve/The way she throws her little fits”.  The very things that Lucretius describes as being the bad part of any relationship between lovers are what draws Gilbert in, with the lack of sleep and the somewhat painful sounding embraces being quirky parts of his relationship. What’s even more interesting is Lucretius warns of this effect, with “Thus we find women with numerous defects of body and behavior being fondly loved and held in high esteem”(pg.131).  This adds another level to the song of Gilbert, as what other features are perhaps in his mind a benefit when in reality they too are detrimental to either him or his lover, or perhaps both.  The description of her being too cute to get on his last nerve, in conjunction with her “fits” also resonates with this fact as he openly admits that things that should irritate him do not as she is physically attractive.

“The body seeks out the object that has wounded the mind with love”(pg. 128)
“…tightly squeeze the object of their desire and cause bodily pain, often driving their teeth into one another’s lips…”(pg. 129)
“Thus we find women with numerous defects of body and behavior being fondly loved and held in high esteem”(pg.131)

Phaedrus describes how lovers refuse to be cowardly in front of the person they love. He even goes as far to say that lovers are the only people that will die for their significant other. Similarly, the song “Grenade” by Bruno Mars outlines the many ways that the singer would die for a girl because of how much he loves her. Both Plato’s ancient text and this modern song characterize love as powerful source that consumes people and leads them to do extreme things to protect the people they love or demonstrate their love. Phaedrus says love can “make him as brave as if he’d been born a hero”, as if love has a grip on man that allows him to be brave for his lover.

However, the modern song is written from the perspective of a man who will go to great lengths for a woman, but the woman will not do the same. Though the love in unrequited, Bruno Mars will still die for the person he loves. Phaedrus makes a point to included that a woman, if she is a true lover, will die for the man she is in love with and the man who loves her. Although both the song and the speech refer to lovers dying out of love, one believes that people will die for the person they love and the other believes that people will die for the person they love while knowing that person loves them back.

Plato’s Symposium, The Speech of Phaedrus
179A-179C pp. 10

For a man in love would never allow his loved one, of all people, to see him leaving ranks or dropping weapons. He’d rather die a thousand deaths! And as for leaving the boy behind, or not coming to his aid in danger—why, no one is so base that true Love could not inspire him with courage, and make him as brave as if he’d been born a hero. When Homer says a god ‘breathes might’ into some of the heroes, this is really Love’s gift to every lover.
Besides, no one will die for you but a lover, and a lover will do this even if she’s a woman.

Horace writes about his personal experience of his relationship with a particular lover, and shares what the current younger lover must be feeling and doing in his stead, the good and the bad. Similarly, in the song 31 Candles, the lead singer sings about her experience with her ex-husband who left her for a younger woman, and what their new love life will be like. Both authors go into great detail to describe the interactions between the new lovers. Horace describes how the “slim boy — beside you (Pyrrha) on the roses” is “soaked with flowing scents, is pressing you.” He describes how the new lover will “often weep over your promises” and “who thinks you’ll never be busy, always be ready to love, not knowing the betrayals of the breeze.” Horace then describes how he is a veteran lover, and has survived the turmoil of his past relationship with Pyrrha. The other author also describes the characteristics of the new lover, as “the skirt with the acoustic guitar… got a f***ing kitty on her shirt” implying that she is a child. The artists describes her husband “Stroke(ing) her supple skin” and saying that she will eventually get older by creating an image of a birthday party to describe the passage of time, “Blow up the balloons, Take out the ribbons in her hair, She’ll be a woman soon
God forbid self possessed and self aware…she may not fare as well as me, I’m thinking 5 more years to go uh, huh.” The use of descriptive texts from both authors indicates that these are their own personal experiences, that they have felt this love, laid beside them in roses, and had their supple skin stroked. 

Both authors similarly warn of the downsides of their experiences and the bad side of their lovers. The singer writes about how the relationship was one-sided and the husband was selfish, “You didn’t never give me nothin’, Always, take, take, take, uh, huh.” Horace warns that the new lovers do “not knowing the betrayals of the breeze, They’re fools you dazzle, they haven’t tried you.” Further indicating towards his own personal experience. 

The differences in texts is that Horace’s relationship with Pyrrah had ended, and there is no indication that he was cheated on and left for a younger lover. The singer of The Mendoza Line, However, sings about how she was betrayed and her husband left her. The point of age is also more important in the Mendoza Line song, since the husband purposefully leaves for a younger lover. Having a younger lover in ancient Rome was common and was most likely mentioned to indicate the age of Horace when he was in that same position. 

1.5 (page 225 – 226)
What Slim Boy — beside you on the roses —
soaked with flowing scents, is pressing
you, Pyrrha, in a pleasing grotto?
For whom do you bind your yellow hair?

–easily elegant. How often he’ll weep over your promises and the shifting gods,
amazed at the seas rough with black winds, the innocent

who now enjoys you, believes in your luster, who thinks you’ll never be busy, always
be ready to love, not knowing the betrayals
of the breeze. They’re fools you dazzle, they haven’t tried you. Me, well a votive plaque on the temple wall tells that I
hung up my sopping clothes to the god
who rules the sea.

Catullus talks about how he has devoted so much of his love to Lesbia, his lover, that even though she has emotionally scared him and he wants to stop loving her, he cannot, “My mind has been dragged down so far…thanks to you,” and “squandered itself so much in its devotion, that it could no longer love you… or stop wanting you.” Similarly, in the song 7 Things Miley Cyrus expresses her feelings of not being able to completely hate her lover since she simultaneously loves him. Both authors express an inner turmoil of strongly hating but also loving a single person. Cyrus lists the 7 things that her lover does that she hates, but also the 7 things she loves about him. The last 7th thing that Cyrus says she hates is “the 7th thing I hate the most that you do You make me love you” while also saying “the 7th thing I like the most that you do You make me love you,” indicating a similar inner turmoil of strongly hating and loving the same person.

Catullus is also similar to Cyrus in that he claims that “even if you were perfect”, if things changed, he would not love her. In Cyrus’s song she sings “Oh I’m not coming back, You’re taking 7 steps here.” Both author expresses how even if things were to change for the better, they would choose not to reenter into the relationship, even though they have both expressed their unchanging love. 

There is some inconsistency in Cyrus’s song, especially when she sings “But nothing’s ever gonna change until you hear, my dear…” before she lists her 7 complaints. This text can be interpreted as a way for Cyrus to gain her lover back by telling him what she didn’t like and what went wrong, with the hope that things will change and they can re-form a relationship. Catullus is different in that he expresses a desire to never love Lesbia again, and is only attached to Lesbia because his mind has been squandered so much in its devotion. 

75 (page 211)

My mind has been dragged down so far, Lesbia, thanks to you,
and squandered itself so much in its devotion,
that it could no longer love you, even if you were perfect,
or stop wanting you, no matter what you did.

There are many similarities between the ancient text of Euripides’ Medea and the song Angel Eyes written and sung by the band ABBA. Both tell a story of a women who fell in love with a man who would later leave them and continue to seduce other women. In the song by ABBA they sing, “And I saw him together with a young girl, And the look that he gave her made me shiver, ‘Cause he always used to look at me that way.” This lyric reveals the romantic relationship the women had with the man, and how he is continuing on with another woman which makes her upset. Medea also reveals how her former husband had moved on, “I wish I could see him And his bride crushed, house and all, for the wrong that – unprovoked – they dare to inflict on me” (line 163-165) . Both women talk about how they were deeply in love but also deeply wounded. ABBA sings, “Look into his angel eyes, One look and you’re hypnotized, He’ll take your heart and you must pay the price, Look into his angel eyes, You’ll think you’re in paradise, And one day you’ll find out he wears a disguise.” Medea similarly warns, “I know that many men are really haughty, some where none can see them, others openly. – People do not behave justly in hating Another on sight, with no injury done, Without learning the person’s character” (line 215-221). Medea talks about “paying the price” with how the loss of love is, “Destroying my soul. I’m ruined. The joy of living Is gone for me” (line 226-227). ABBA sings, “Sometimes when I’m lonely I sit and think about him
And it hurts to remember all the good times, When I thought I could never live without him. – Every time when I see him, will it bring back all the pain.” ABBA is similar to Medea in that they are constantly hurt when they think of their loved one. It can be interpreted from Medea, that every time she sees her children, she is reminded of her husband: “Accursed Children of a hateful mother! Perish with your father!” (line 111-113).

However, ABBA is singing about how they are still reminiscing about how good their relationship was, even though they are saddened by the separation. ABBA’s song is also a warning to girls to be careful of men with “Angel Eyes” who will give you “paradise” but then leave you in pain. Medea on the other hand is only constantly cursing her husband, and appears to not see a possible future without him. This is similar to when ABBA sings, “When I thought I could never live without him”, but it can be inferred that they are healed now and have regained control of their emotions, which Medea has obviously not. Maybe Medea should take some pointers from ABBA. 

Euripides’ Medea:
“I wish I could see him And his bride crushed, house and all, for the wrong that – unprovoked – they dare to inflict on me” (line 163-165).

“I know that many men are really haughty, some where none can see them, others openly. – People do not behave justly in hating Another on sight, with no injury done, Without learning the person’s character” (line 215-221).

“Destroying my soul. I’m ruined. The joy of living Is gone for me” (line 226-227). 

“Accursed Children of a hateful mother! Perish with your father!” (line 111-113).

Both Coldplay’s song “Always in My Head” and Meleager’s poem G-P 41 are about lovers unsuccessfully trying to get out of their love for another. Both use the analogy of movement to describe the experience of trying to leave love behind but being caught in paralysis.

Coldplay uses the duality of body and mind: “My body moves…but though I try my heart stays still / it never moves … / And you’re always in my head.” I take “heart” to be a metaphor for the speaker’s seeming incapability to escape love rather than referring to his actual heart, since earlier in the song the speaker says “his body moves.” So, although he is able to physically move and he tries to move out of love, he is unable to escape his love, thus the lyrics “my heart stays still.” It is a case of the speaker knowing what is best for him and being unable to act on it.

Similarly, Meleager uses the idea of paralysis to describe the experience of being trapped in love. He talks about his “soul warn[ing]” him to “flee” his love, but, just like the speaker in ‘Always in my Head’, he doesn’t have the ability to move, displayed in the phrase “I have no strength to flee.”

In ‘Always in my Head’, the speaker talks about the mind and how the lover is “always in [his] head” whereas in Meleager’s poem, the speaker mentions the soul, saying that his “shameless soul’s in love.” This distinction could be due to the historical context differences between the two pieces. It’s common in modern western culture to think about conditions, such as love, that were attributed to the soul in Greek and Roman times to be attributed to the mind. In this case, I’d say this is a semantic distinction and that the two speakers are describing the same experience of being psychologically paralyzed by their love. Though, it leads to a further, quite interesting, question: how is one’s experience of love affected by one’s conceptual framework of the world (ie. materialist, dualist, etc)?

“My soul warns me to flee my lust for Heliodora …
but I have no strength to flee. For even as it’s warning me, that shameless soul’s in love” (lines 1 and 3)

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 one another, a different suitor by the name of Dorcon desires Chloe for himself. In an attempt to win her over, Dorcon hides himself while draped in the skin of a wolf as he waits to surprise Chloe and carry her off. Maroon 5’s Animals also contains reference to the natural world in regards to desire. The lyrics “Hunt you down, eat you alive just like animals,” don’t immediately bring forth images of love or relationship. Instead, much like Dorcon’s character in Daphnis and Chloe, the base desire for a woman is contrasted with the nature of predators, like wolves.

These depictions of attraction as primal and animalistic are harmful by perpetrating the idea that men are predatory and women are prey. The assumption that men’s attraction is predatory and that women are passive objects for attraction is contrasted by the genuine affection between Daphnis and Chloe.

It was the perfect place for a real wolf to lurk in ambush. Dorcon hid himself there and waited for the time when the flocks would come and drink; he was sure he could get his hands on Chloe after terrifying her with his wolf-suit.
Daphnis & Chloe, Longus, 1.20 (end)

The refrain of Heart Don’t Stand a Chance speaks to the confidence that Ovid purports in the line “be a confident soul.” Paak telling the woman he is in pursuit of that “[her] heart [doesn’t] stand a chance” is confident because he is saying it before he has even, as Ovid describes it, “capture[d] [his] find.”

Also, the language that Paak uses is very representative of how Ovid is conceptualizing love in ‘The Art of Love’ as a game. As Ovid purports, “Women can always be caught; that’s the first rule of the game.” Paak’s line, “I’m waiting for the white flag” is an analogy between him pursuing a woman to that of a battle, although, given the context of a hip-hop/RnB, upbeat song, it is obviously a playful phrase, more similar to a game than a battle.

Further, both Ovid and Paak think that if you woo a woman well, she’ll inevitably succumb. The last line of the Ovid passage says that a well-wooed woman is less likely to not be won over than birds are to not sing in the spring while Paak’s refrain says that the woman he is pursuing doesn’t stand a chance- essentially saying the same thing.

Now you must learn (this is hard) how you can capture your find/…/
First: be a confident soul, and spread your nets with assurance. /
Women can always be caught; that’s the first rule of the game./
Sooner would birds in the spring be silent/…/
Than would a woman, well-wooed, refuse to succumb to a lover;

In the very beginning of Euripides’ Medea, we are told the story of a woman (a wife and a mother) who’s husband left her to marry another younger bride. On page 14 lines 15, we have a third party Nurse describe the rage and hurt Medea is internalizing: “But now — everything’s hateful, her love is sick. Jason betrayed his children and my mistress for the marriage-bed of a royal bride…And Medea – poor woman! – treated with dishonor”. When reading this piece of literature, I Before He Cheats – a song about a woman who also becomes aware that her significant other is having an affair and want revenge. On the other hand, we don’t get to see a lot of the explicit hurt, grief, and tears from Carrie Underwood as we do with Medea. 

The nurse goes onto say “I’m afraid she may be planning something rash. Her mind is dangerous. She will not endure mistreatment. I know this woman and fear her; she’s a frightening woman: not easily will someone engage with her in hatred and win the prize”. Carrie Underwood begins to describe the situation in which her lover is having an affair and that he also doesn’t know what form of revenge will be taken: 

“Right now, he’s probably
Dabbing on three dollars
Worth of that bathroom Polo
Oh, and he don’t know”

“That I dug my key into the side
Of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive
Carved my name into his leather seats
I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights
I slashed a hole in all four tires
Maybe next time he’ll think before he cheats”

Moreso, On page 32 line 405, Medea says to the chorus “And what is more, We’re women, quite unable to manage good, but none more skilled when it comes to doing harm” Here, she explains the power she holds as a woman and how skilled she is at ensuring her dignity is still present despite the situation making her feel like a fool. Similarly, Carrie Underwood states that the cheating lover is actually the fool, because he’s learning that she is not one to be cheated on:

“I might have saved a little trouble for the next girl
‘Cause the next time that he cheats
Oh, you know it won’t be on me!
No, not on me”

Unfortunately, one major difference between the two acts of revenge is that Carrie Underwood’s form of revenge is to destroy her boyfriend’s truck, whereas Medea killed both her husband, his new lover, and her children (yikes). 

Page 14: “But now — everything’s hateful, her love is sick. Jason betrayed his children and my mistress for the marriage-bed of a royal bride…And Medea – poor woman! – treated with dishonor”.
Page 15: “I’m afraid she may be planning something rash. Her mind is dangerous. She will not endure mistreatment. I know this woman and fear her; she’s a frightening woman: not easily will someone engage with her in hatred and win the prize”.

In Euripides’ Medea, towards the end Medea find out that Jason has cheated on her and started a new life with a new wife. She is quite hurt and upset by all of this and acts out in fits of jealousy and rage. In Carrie Underwoods’ “Before He Cheats,” she sings of a man that has cheated on her and the acts of rage she carried out against him. They both highlight this feeling that is, unfortunately, known to some (maybe even many) of wanting to hurt the person that hurt you and wanting to embarrass them in the way that you have been embarrassed. They both portray the women threatening someone else. Medea threatens to do terrible things to Jason’s new wife and children and Underwood threatens that the guy should think before he ever does this again and is setting an example for what to expect should he.

A major difference between these two works, though, is that Medea caused much more detrimental harm than the woman Underwood portrays in her song. Medea goes onto murder people and destroy peoples’ lives whereas Underwood’s character merely breaks a few things causing some embarrassment and probably expensive damage. She is not, however, murdering the woman he cheated on her with.

“Since you are base, your death will be fittingly mean: you’ll be struck on the head by a piece of your ship, Argo, a bitter termination to your marriage with me.” (1386-1387)

In Virgil’s The Aeneid, the relationship between Dido and Aeneas is a fantastic example of the end of a romantic relationship. The story is actually very tragic and morose; the gods had created and tore apart this loving couple, and leaving behind anger in the end. However, as I read, I also felt as though I was reading a sad break-up story from a modern television show. Everything in this break-up story seemed very dramatized, just as a Hollywood production. For example, the idea of gathering up all of Aeneas’ belongings or anything that reminded Dido of Aeneas, compiling them in a giant pyre and burning it all in a magnificent stance against his betrayal is quite the way to deal with the end of their relationship. This kind of over-exaggeration reminded me of a modern dramatized break up: Taylor Swift’s “We are never ever getting back together”. Of course, the tales are not similar in that Dido is under the influence of a god causing her to be completely taken over by her love for Aeneas, and her situation is portrayed as a very sad way. Taylor Swift’s story seems to be far less tragic and much more foreseeable. Her lyrics constantly refer to a different time in the past when she and her lover broke up and got back together. This relationship doesn’t seem to be as sturdy as the one between Aeneas and Dido. Additionally, Swift has no desire to be together again, whereas Dido is a character that seems to not be able to live without Aeneas. The main thing that reminded me of the more sassy and overdramatized verses in Taylor Swift’s song was the building a gigantic pyre out of spite and committing suicide at the end of the relationship. It gave me the idea of someone going to a lot of trouble because of something that should not merit so much anger. Taylor Swift not only wrote an entire song specifically about the break-up, but the lyrics are famous for being so absurdly clear in what they mean. Simply put, both reactions just seem “extra” to me. Swift’s song is very clearly directed at her ex and it is very clear that she wants nothing to do with him anymore. Dido harness’s the same idea, but ramps it up to 1000, burning all of her ex-lover’s belongings in a huge fire that you can see from far offshore and committing suicide.

The Aeneid Book IV:
lines 683-689– “Build up a pyre in the inner court / Under the open sky, and place upon it / The arms that faithless man left in my chamber, / All his clothing, and the marriage bed / On which I came to grief–solace for me / To annihilate all vestige of the man / Vile as he is: my priestess shows me this.”

The characters Eliza Hamilton and Medea share a remarkably similar plight. Both are won over by the words of their spouse, both were utterly loyal, and both were cheated on by their husband. In “Burn” (sung by Phillipa Soo) from the musical Hamilton and Euripides Medea we find two heart wrenching accounts of betrayed women.

“Burn” is Eliza’s reaction to the Reynold’s Pamphlet, an account of her husband’s affair, written by her husband, in the hopes of maintaining his status in society. In the process, he destroys his relationship with his wife. “You said you were mine/I thought you were mine/Do you know what Angelica said/When we saw your first letter arrive?/She said/“Be careful with that one, love/He will do what it takes to survive.”/You and your words flooded my senses/Your sentences left me defenseless” in these lines one can feel the anguish of Eliza, she truly believed her husband was her loyal partner, but her happy life (or the façade of it) is undone by her husband’s betrayal followed by his attempts to save face. He did what it took to survive politically, but in doing so killed his marriage. The added salt to the wound is that their entire relationship he had been doting and loving in his letters to her, so she had no reason to suspect the betrayal.

Just like Eliza, Medea gave everything to her husband, who won her over with his lovely words, just for him to stab her in the back in an attempt to socially climb by marrying the daughter of the king of Corinth, “The one who was everything to me (I know it) Has turned out the worst of men, my husband.” (Euripides, Medea, lns. 228-230). Jason tries to spin it that he was trying to let her keep a good life in the city even after he is remarried, but she is still ordered to be exiled (lns. 455-458). Both women are betrayed by their husband, who they thought were completely loyal to them, and both must deal with the consequences. They also must deal with their entire communities knowing what happened as neither man is exactly discreet, with Alexander writing a pamphlet and Jason marrying the princess of Corinth.

However, they diverge utterly in how they react to the betrayal. Eliza reacts by burning the letters Alex sent her (thus the name of the song), refusing to let society know that he is a loving husband – which might make people let him off the hook somewhat for breaking her heart. On the other hand, Medea kills her kids, Jason’s new wife Glauce, the king (when he tries to save Glauce), and runs away to Athens in a chariot pulled by dragons.

Somewhat different approaches to revenge.

Euripides, Medea
Lns. 228-230 – “The one who was everything to me (I know it) Has turned out the worst of men, my husband.”
Lns. 455-458 – Jason monologue

Catullus’ poem to Lesbia portrays his love for her by asking her to give him so many kisses that “we’ll lose track of the number” and also asks her to grow old and eventually die with him, which can be seen in the line “we must sleep one endless night”. In class, when reviewing this poem we brought up the concept of numbers and how the numbers used in this poem, thousand and hundred, are used to show the prominence of his love for her. This conversation of numbers also made me think of a popular song from the musical The Last Five Years. This poem reminded me of the song “The Next Ten Minutes” because like Catullus, the leading man, Jamie, is professing his love to his lover and is asking her to stay with him forever, in this case through marriage. The fact that he uses time scales like “ten lifetimes” and “a million summers” exaggerated his love for her by using the same number concept as Catullus.

However, one prominent difference between the two works is that in “The Next Ten Minutes” we know that Jamie’s lover, Cathy, reciprocates his love and also uses exaggerated terms like “forever” when describing her love for him. However, with Catullus, we know for a fact that Lesbia does not reciprocate his feelings, as shown by the fact that she is reluctant to give him these kisses. Also, in the end, Lesbia leaves Catullus for another man.

5
Bing and Cohen

Let’s live, my Lesbia, and let’s love
and not give a dime for all the talk
of overly severe old men.
Suns can set and rise again;
for us, once the brief day ends,
we must sleep one endless night.
Give me one thousand kisses, then a hundred,
then another thousand, then a second hundred,
then yet another thousand, then a hundred;
then, when we’ve had many thousands of kisses,
we’ll lose track of the number, so we won’t know,
and so no one can give us the evil eye
by knowing that our kisses were so many.