Not Horacing Around: Ode 1.11

11 April 2025

Episode 5.11 – Not Horacing Around: Ode 1.11

Can an ancient Roman poet offer insight into carpe diem? Perhaps, but then again . . .

Along the way, we talk about Catullus, Horace and his Odes, the translation of “seize the day” vs. “pluck” or “harvest,” a close analysis of Ode 1.11’s imagery and possible subtext, parallels between Horace and Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress,” “Seize the Day” and popular imagination, Roman poetic meter and choriambs, a possible Epicurean revision through harvest metaphors, and the sorting of domestic pigs. The Mailbag segment reminds listeners how much material from Waywords is Creative Commons copyright.

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Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/andrew-marvell-coy-mistress/

CHAPTERS

00:00 My Poem Asks a Question
06:02 Opening Theme
06:35 Odes, Book 1, Poem 11
12:37 Mistranslation’s Tradition
20:34 Reconciliations
23:32 Idealism and Harvests
28:18 Mailbag: Can I Get a Copy of Your Poem?
30:45 Closing Theme

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Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/transcript-not-horacing-around/

Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/MmhqcGgeLcjCaVK97

What are your thoughts on our discussion? Email me: [email protected]

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Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.

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CREDITS:

Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)

Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski

USING THIS WORK:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.

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