Catullus 43 vs. Catullus 69

"In Poem 43, Catullus is quite rude. He criticizes this random woman and makes fun of her features, just because he is upset that people think she is as beautiful as Lesbia. He tells her that she has a big nose, ugly feet, sausage link fingers, and a wet mouth. Catullus must be really upset, because this is just mean. If anyone ever wrote a poem about how ugly I was, I would cry for days. Catullus is a real jerk.

However, he shows how much he loves Lesbia by saying all these mean things. He is defending her beauty and honoring her devastatingly good looks. Instead of saying, "oh alright, i guess this woman is kind of hot," Catullus decides to bash her and stand up for Lesbia."

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Above, I've included my original analysis of Poem 43 by Catullus, which I have chosen to compare to another poem by Catullus, 69. Catullus 69 is about a poor man named Rufus who smells like goats. Catullus, in an attempt to be a friend and tell him why no girls like him, writes a poem to explain. "You are not a ladies man because you reek," is how this poem would translate into modern English. 

These poems are similar because they show Catullus' ability to insult people who are not Lesbia. If I may say myself, he is very talented in this art. Perhaps Catullus feels he can insult these people because he is insecure with himself, and his relationship. Insulting others publicly would be a great way to show off his machoness to Lesbia so that she will fall more in love with him.