National 5 Latin SQA

This subject is broken down into 34 topics in 3 modules:

  1. Literary Appreciation 6 topics
  2. Translating: Accidence 14 topics
  3. Translating: Syntax 14 topics
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This page was last modified on 28 September 2024.

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Latin

Literary Appreciation

Catullus: 'Love Poems' Selection

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Catullus: 'Love Poems' Selection

Understanding Catullus: 'Love Poems' Selection

  • Catullus was a Latin poet during the late Roman Republic noted for diverse and emotive poetry.
  • The poems are primarily about the poet's personal life, focusing on love, friendship, and contemporary life.
  • Catullus was famed for writing about intense emotions and his deeply personal style rather than just writing about heroes and gods.
  • His most notable romantic relationship was with a woman he calls 'Lesbia' in his poems. Many speculate this to be a pseudonym for Clodia Metelli.

Themes Explored

  • Predominant theme: Love - Catullus explores both the pleasures and pains of love.
  • He often identifies his love as causing him both joy and agony, creating a dualistic depiction.
  • A recurring theme is the betrayal by Lesbia and the hurt it causes Catullus.
  • Multiple sonnets highlight the theme of loss - Catullus grapples with the death of his brother in Poem 101.
  • Desire versus reality - Catullus often expresses his fantasies and desires, contrasting them with his reality.

Analysis of Poems

  • Poem 5 (''Let us live, my Lesbia...''): Catullus proposes they should love each other freely and not care about the opinions of rigid old men.
  • Poem 8 (''Poor Catullus...''): Catullus tries to convince himself to end the relationship with Lesbia.
  • Poem 76 (''If a man’s noble character...''): Explores his inability to sever ties with Lesbia.
  • Poem 85 (''I hate and I love''): Catullus captures the paradox of love and hate co-existing.
  • Poem 101 (''Many the peoples...''): This poem is a tearful farewell to Catullus' brother.

Poetic Techniques Observed

  • Metaphorical language: Catullus uses powerful metaphors to describe his mental states.
  • Hyperbole: Over-exaggeration is presented to emphasize his immense feelings of love or sorrow.
  • Imagery: Vivid imagery is frequently used to relay abstract emotions and internal turmoil.
  • Use of direct address: Catullus often speaks directly to Lesbia, the reader, or himself.
  • Paradox: The love and pain Catullus feels for Lesbia is often presented as a paradox.

Style and Language

  • Catullus' language is mostly informal, reflecting his emotional vulnerability.
  • His poetry often fuses intense emotion with the use of elegant and sophisticated style.
  • The language is raw and candid, adding to the humanity of his expression.
  • His use of various poetry forms (elegy, hendecasyllabic verse, epic, etc.) enhances the richness of his work.
  • His verse displays a comprehensive mastery of Latin metrics, with different metres suited to different moods.

Catullus's Influence

  • Catullus was one of the pioneers of the personal poetry genre.
  • The themes and styles in his poetry laid a foundation for subsequent Roman poets like Virgil and Ovid.
  • Catullus is appreciated for his authentic expression of human experience and emotion.
  • He is considered one of the great Latin lyric poets and continues to be a prominent figure in literature studies today.

Course material for Latin, module Literary Appreciation, topic Catullus: 'Love Poems' Selection

Latin

Translating: Accidence

Participle: present active, perfect passive

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Participle: present active, perfect passive

Present Active Participles

  • A participle in Latin is a type of verb form that functions like an adjective, providing extra descriptive information about a noun.
  • A present active participle describes an ongoing action that the noun is performing actively.
  • The present active participle is formed by removing '-re' from the present infinitive and adding '-ns' - but note that the stem vowel of the verb changes. For example, 'amans' is the present active participle of the verb 'amare' (to love), meaning 'loving'.
  • The present active participle also has gender, number, and case that must be adjusted properly to match the associated noun. For instance, the feminine singular accusative form of 'amans' is 'amantem'.
  • Note that present active participles are declined similarly to third-declension nouns.

Perfect Passive Participles

  • A perfect passive participle refers to a completed action that has been acted upon by the noun or that the noun has received.
  • The perfect passive participle is formed by removing '-i' from the perfect stem and adding '-us' (for masculine and neuter) or '-a' (for feminine). For example, 'amatus' or 'amata' is the perfect passive participle of the verb 'amare' (to love), meaning 'loved'.
  • Also, as with the present active participle, the perfect passive participle must be adjusted to the gender, number, and case of the noun it's describing. So, 'amatam' is the feminine singular accusative form of 'amatus'.
  • Perfect passive participles are declined like regular first and second-declension adjectives.
  • Bear in mind that some verbs form their perfect passive participle in irregular ways, so it's crucial to study the principal parts of individual verbs.

Practicing the construction and declension of participles will significantly boost your translation skills. They provide a wealth of descriptive information and often clarify the meaning of a noun in the sentence. Remember that although participles come from verbs, they should be treated as adjectives grammatically when translating.

Course material for Latin, module Translating: Accidence, topic Participle: present active, perfect passive

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