Catullus is very smart in using writing mechanics to paint a picture in the readers head of an idea or scene he is trying to get across. In the first part of this poem Catullus and Lesbia say that they should value the rumors of old men as nothing. To create the feeling of hearing rumors, Catullus puts the letter "s" at the end words that are around the part of the poem which has to do with the rumors. For example, he uses the verbs, amemus, vivamus, and eastimemus. Catullus uses the sound of certain letters again when he talks about having Lesbia giving him kisses. He chooses the number and word "centum" because the letter "c" in Latin makes the sound of a hard "k" in English. This hard "k" sound sounds like a kiss which is what Catullus is talking about at this point in the poem.
Also, Catullus uses certain words to get a message across that refers to Lesbia's husband. This happens when he tells Lesbia he is going to mix up all the kisses they made together, so that people will envy them. I believe he is referring to Lesbia's husband because he chooses the words, "ne quis malus," which means, "so that somebody evil may not". "Somebody evil" refers to her husband because to Catullus, he is evil since Lesbia is taken by him. This is one of the main reasons why Lesbia will not fall in love with Catullus.
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