Why did Cicero criticize Catullus and the New Poets?

The orator and poet Marcus Tullius Cicero criticized the group of poets known as the neoteros (or poetae novi) primarily because their aesthetic values stood in direct opposition to the traditional Roman literary standards of his time.12

The neoteros, including Catullus, sought to break away from the established didactic-patriotic tradition of Latin poetry, which was exemplified by the works of Quintus Ennius. While the traditional school favored grand, epic themes and ponderous meters, the new poets consciously emulated the refined, sophisticated, and learned styles of Alexandrian Greek models.12

Cicero, who valued the traditional Roman literary heritage, viewed this shift toward "art for art's sake"—which emphasized meticulous craftsmanship, light entertainment, and personal self-expression—with hostility. He labeled them the "new poets" (neoteros in Greek and poetae novi in Latin), a term that reflected his disapproval of their departure from the grander, archaic fashions that he believed were central to Roman poetic identity.12