Daedalus et Icarus

Daedalus et Icarus Stage 44 The historical present Ellipsis Syncope

Literary Terms and Rhetorical Devices (pp. 339-341) • You have already seen some rhetorical devices common to Latin poetry, for example: • Alliteration: repetition of the same sound, usually a consonant, at the beginning of two or more adjacent words to draw the reader’s attention to those words. • …Naturamquenovat (change). Nam ponit in ordinepennas… • …and he change(d) nature. For he placed/put feathers in a row… • Allusion: a brief reference to details the writer expects the reader to recognize; proper names, customs, geography, history, mythology, etc. • Anaphora: repetition of word or phrase at the beginning of several successive clauses or phrases.

Literary Terms and Rhetorical Devices (pp. 339-341) • Apostrophe: a sudden break in the narrative to address the reader or an absent person or thing; often indicates strong emotion. • Assonance: repetition of sound, especially of the same vowel sound, in two or more adjacent words. • …Ante (in front) volat , comitiquetimet, velut (like) ales (bird), ab alto… • …he flies in front, and fears for his companion, like a bird, on high… • Asyndeton: omission of customary connecting words to express lively action, tense excitement, or choking grief. • Connotation: the cluster of implicit or associated meanings of a word as distinguished from that word’s denotative or specific meaning.

Literary Terms and Rhetorical Devices (pp. 339-341) • Euphemism: using a pleasant expression to replace an unpleasant. • Epithet: is a descriptive term (word or phrase) accompanying, or occurring in place of, a name. • This was very characteristic of Roman epic poetry both because of the constraints of the meter (i.e., it is convenient to have a stockpile of metrically fitting phrases to add to a name) and because of the oral transmission of the poems. • The following contains the word “Iononi” which is an epithet for something sacred to the goddess Juno. Et iamIunonia (loved by Juno) laeva parte (on the left hand) Samos (fuerantDelosqueParosquerelictae)... • Now Samos, loved by juno, lay on the left hand and Delos and Paros had already been left behind. (lines 1-2, part V)

Literary Terms and Rhetorical Devices (pp. 339-341) • Chiasmus: a criss-cross arrangement of words (ABBA) from the Greek: χιάζω, chiázō, "to shape like the letter X"). • Some examples in English follow: • “Fair is foul and foul is fair “ A B B A • “But O, what damned minutes tells he o'erWhodotes, yetdoubts;suspects, yetstrongly loves.” A B B A "Dotes" and "strongly loves" share the same meaning and bracket "doubts" and "suspects.“ • "But many that are first shall be last; and thelast shall be first." A B B A

Literary Terms and Rhetorical Devices (pp. 339-341) • Chiasmus: a criss-cross arrangement of words (ABBA) from the Greek: χιάζω, chiázō, "to shape like the letter X"). • Study these Latin examples: • visceribus atras pascit effossis aves (Seneca) A B V B A “He feeds the black birds with his gutted wounds” (the As are nouns and the Bs are adjectives; notice how they are separated with a verb) • “festinatilluc unde aliifugiunt” (Pliny) A B prep. B A "He hurried to the place from where others were fleeing." Here, the verbs festinat (hurried) and fugiunt (were fleeing) are on the outside of the chiasmus and the adverbs illuc (to the place) and unde (where from) in the middle to form the cross.

Literary Terms and Rhetorical Devices (pp. 339-341) • Chiasmus: a criss-cross arrangement of words (ABBA) from the Greek: χιάζω, chiázō, "to shape like the letter X"). • Try and determine the method of this example of chiasmus from Ovid: • “Ore renidenti modo, quas vaga moverat aura” (lI, line 5) (ore renidenti = with a smiling face; modo = now; aura = breeze) • Orerenidenti modo, quas vaga moverat aura A B B A “now with a smiling face (he was capturing feathers) which a wandering breeze had moved ” (the As are nouns and the Bs are verbs; notice how they are separated)

Literary Terms and Rhetorical Devices (pp. 339-341) • Synchysis: a type of interlocking word order where the words of one noun-adjective phrase are alternating with those of another (ABAB) • A line of Latin verse in the form: adjective A - adjective B - verb - noun A - noun B, with the verb in the center (or a corresponding chiastic line, again with the verb in the center), is known as a golden line. • Study this Latin example: • “aurea purpuream subnectit fibula vestem” (Virgil) A B V A B "a golden clasp bound her purple cloak" ; literally, “golden purple bound clasp cloak”

Literary Terms and Rhetorical Devices (pp. 339-341) • Synchysis: a type of interlocking word order where the words of one noun-adjective phrase are alternating with those of another (ABAB) • Try and determine the method of this example of synchysis from Ovid: • “Oraque caeruleā patrium clamantia nomen excipiuntur aquā…” (ora = mouth; caerulea = dark blue) (V, line 10-11) • “Oraquecaeruleā patrium clamantia nomen excipiuntur aquā…” A B A B • “And (his) mouth calling out the name of (his) father was swallowed up by the blue water…”

The Historical Present • Study the following example: • Fur per fenestram intravit. Circumspexit; sed omnia tacita erant. Subito sonitum audit; e tablino canis se praecipitat. Fur effugere conatur; latrat canis; irrumpunt servi et furem comprehendunt. • A thief entered through the window. He looked around; but all was silent. Suddenly he hears a noise; a dog hurtles out of the study. The thief tries to escape; the dog barks; the slaves rush in and seize the thief. • Notice that all the verbs in the example, after the first two sentences, are in the present tense, even though the event obviously happened in the past. This is know as the historical present.

The Historical Present • Roman authors often used the historical present to make the narration more lively and vivid, as if the action were happening before the reader’s (or listener’s) eyes. • The historical present in Latin can be translated either by an English present tense (as in the preceding example), or by a past tense. • Read this use of the historical present containing the word dum: • Dum equites morantur, nuntius principia irrupit. • While the cavalry were delaying, a messenger burst into headquarters.

The Ellipsis • Ellipsis: the omission of word(s) necessary for the grammatical structure of a sentence or clause to give greater brevity, compactness, and force. • Study the following examples: • Thais habet nigros, niveos Laeconia dentes… • Thais has black teeth, Laeconia has white ones… • The longer way to express this same idea is: Thais habet nigros, niveos Laeconia dentes habet… • Et movet ipse suas et nati respicit alās. • He moves both his own wings himself and looks back at the wings of his son. • Compare this with: Et ipse suas alās movet et alās nati respicit.

The Ellipsis • More examples: • Centurio gladium, miles hastam gerebat. • The centurion was wearing a sword, the soldier (was wearing) a spear. • Hic caupo vendit optimum, ille vinum pessimum. • This innkeeper sells the best wine, that (one/innkeeper sells) the worst wine. • Nos in urbe, vos proper mare habitatis. • We live in the city, you (live) near the sea. • Non semper viatores a latronibus, aliquando latrones a viatoribus occiduntur (viatores = travelors) • The travelors are not always killed by robbers; sometimes robbers are killed by travelers.

The Ellipsis • Ellipsis: the omission of word(s) necessary for the grammatical structure of a sentence or clause to give greater brevity, compactness, and force. • More examples: • Altera femina quinque liberos habebat altera nullos. • The one woman had 5 children, the other (had) none. • Divitias quarit senex, spernit iuvenis. • The old man seeks riches; the young man rejects (them). • Enumerat miles vulnera, pastor oves. (Propertius) • The soldiers count the wounded, the shephard (counts) sheep. • Culpavit dominus, laudavit domina vilicum. • The master blamed the steward/overseer/manager, the mistress praised him. • Ars longa, vita brevis. • Art is forever (long), life is short.

Syncope • Syncope: the 3rd person plural of the perfect tense expressed with an “-ēre” ending instead of “-erunt”. • This is INCREDIBLY common in Roman poetry because it allowed the poet to “shorten a word to fit the meter” of the poem. • Examples: • Cives gladiatorem incitaverunt. • The citizen urged on the gladiator. • Centum me tetigēre manūs. • A hundred hands touched me. • Clientes patronum salutavēre. • The clients greeted their patron.

Syncope • Syncope: the 3rd person plural of the perfect tense expressed with an “-ēre” ending instead of “-erunt”. • More Examples: • Inter opus monitūsque genae maduēre seniles • Between the work and warnings, the old man’s cheeks grew wet. • Servi conta dominum coniuravēre. • The slaves plotted against their master. • In illo proelio multi barbari periēre. • Many barbarians perished in that battle.

Literary Terms and Rhetorical Devices (pp. 339-341) • Hendiadys: one idea expressed through two words. • …Daedalus interea Creten (Greek acc. = Crete)longumque perosus (hating) exilium… (I, line 1-2) • …Meanwhile, Daedalus, hating Crete and his long exile… • Imagery: the use of descriptions to convey meaning • Sic rustica quondam fistula disparibus paulatam surgit avenis. • In the same way the pipe of a countryman is built up with reeds of different lengths. • Nam ponit in ordine pennas, ut clivo crevisse putes; • For he places feathers in a row so that you would think (the feathers) had grown on a slope;

Literary Terms and Rhetorical Devices (pp. 339-341) • Imagery: the use of descriptions to convey meaning • …velut (like) ales (a bird), ab alto quae teneram (tender) prolem (offspring) produxit (has brought out) in aera nido (nest); • …like a (mother) bird, who has brought out her tender offspring into the air from their nest on high…

Literary Terms and Rhetorical Devices (pp. 339-341) • Simile: an explicit comparison using like or as • …velut (like) ales (a bird), ab alto quae teneram (tender) prolem (offspring) produxit (has brought out) in aera nido (nest); • …like a (mother) bird, who has brought out her tender offspring into the air from their nest on high… • Interlocked Word Order: words of one noun-adjective phrase alternating with those of another (ABAB) • Juxtaposition: two words set side-by-side to intensify the meaning • Metonymy: a word used to suggest another with which it is closely related; “lend me your ear”; ear = listen • Onomatopoeia: sound of word expresses its meaning

Literary Terms and Rhetorical Devices (pp. 339-341) • Synecdoche: a part used to represent the whole; from the Greek meaning "simultaneous understanding“ • closely related to metonymy (the figure of speech in which a term denoting one thing is used to refer to a related thing) • "White hair" for an elderly person • "Fingers" or "Legs" as a nickname • "Wheels" referring to a car • "A pair of hands" referring to a worker • "Old Blue Eyes" to refer to Frank Sinatra • Bracketing/Framing: Word order device: A1 A2 N2 N1

Literary Terms and Rhetorical Devices (pp. 339-341) • Transferred Epithet: application of an adjective to one noun when it properly applies to another, often involving personification and focusing special attention on the modified noun. • An adjective appropriate to one noun is attached to another by association: thus in the phrase sick room it is not strictly the room that is sick but the person in it. • …Cum puer audaci (dative use of adj) coepit guadere volatu (ablative use of noun)… • …When the boy began to rejoice in (his) bold flight… • The adjective audaci actually refers to the boy who is behaving “boldly” but is transferred to the boy’s flight = volatū • Word Picture: arrangement of words to suggest the meaning visibly • …geminas (two) opifex (inventor) libravit (balanced) in alas… • …the inventor balanced the two wings on his shoulders…

Other Questions to Consider • Common Latin Phrases using Solvere (p. 204 A) • Characters & Places – can you identify the following? • arator • Crete • delos • Minos • Orion • Paros • pastor • piscator • W.H. Auden

Daedalus et Icarus