Take-home quizzes on Ovid's style, syntax, and grammar will be due after each of our three primary units.

Quizzes must be completed and submitted by the specified date, either in person or via email (PDF attachments, please).

Quizzes will require you to re-read our Latin selections from the Metamorphoses and to cite specific grammatical and syntactic contructions (such as purpose clauses, result clauses, gerundives) and poetic devices (such as enjambment or alliteration). Quizzes will also have a scansion component and a brief essay.

GRAMMAR AND SYNTAX:

1. Identify quotations by book/line references (e.g., Met. 1.211–212).

2. Quote as much of the construction as needed in order to demonstrate you've identified it successfully. If the construction is a subordinate clause, include some of the main clause (which is usually the "trigger") for context. By quoting only the necessary components of a construction, students prove themselves careful and discerning readers.

3. Translate the quotation (and only the quotation) as accurately as possible and in your own words.

4. Discuss the essentials of the construction: what they are, how they work. If the construction is a subordinate clause, be sure to relate it back to the main clause.

IMPORTANT: Consult the Guide to Subordinate Clauses when formulating your discussion, especially as regards the essential elements of such constructions. Allen & Greenough's New Latin Grammar is an even more reliable resource, and should be cited whenever you use it.

POETIC DEVICES:

For poetic devices follow the same proces as for constructions, identifying, quoting, translating, and discussing specific examples.

SCANSION:

Download the scansion portion of the quiz from our Opera page, and fill it in as you would our scansion drills. Submit it in hardcopy on Prof. Curley's door or scan it and submit it with the rest of your quiz.

ESSAY:

Essays should be at least 3–4 full paragraphs and supported with evidence from the text.

GRADING:

Constructions: 10 points each: identification, 3; quotation, 2; translation, 2; discussion, 3.

Poetic devices: 5 points each: identification, 1; quotation, 1; translation, 1; discussion, 2.

Scansion: 5 points each line.

Essay: 40 points unless otherwise stated.

Due: Saturday, February 17 (11:00 p.m.)
Coverage: Met. 1.1–162

A. Grammar and syntax

apposition
ablative of comparison
ablative of separation
ablative absolute
purpose clause

B. Poetic devices

syncopation
golden line
anadiplosis

C. Scansion

Met. 1.125–129 (via our Opera page).

D.  Essay

How does Ovid, in the early stages of Metamorphoses book 1, stake his claim within the poetic tradition? Discuss a few examples.

Due: Saturday, March 24 (11:00 p.m.)
Coverage: Met. 1.163–205, 209–213, 218–243; 3.155–255; 6.37–52, 70–145;
Coverage: Met. 8.741–784, 799–808, 814–822, 875–878

A. Grammar and syntax

apposition
genitive of material or description
ablative absolute
cum-clause
indirect statement
subjunctive relative clause

B. Poetic devices

enjambment
chiasmus
poetic plural (2 instances)

C. Scansion

Met. 8.830–834 (via our Opera page).

D.  Essay

How does Ovid generate sympathy or antipathy for Lycaon, Actaeon, Arachne, and Erysichthon? Be sure to cite specifics from the text.

Due: Saturday, April 21 (11:00 p.m.)
Coverage: Met. 1.452–73, 490–516, 525–67; 4.55–166; 6.519–600, 629–74;
Coverage: Met. 10.298–310, 321–355, 368–388, 446–468.

A. Grammar and syntax

objective genitive
dative of reference or (dis)advantage (your choice)
accusative of respect
ablative of separation
indirect command
indirect question
potential or deliberative subjunctive (your choice)
contrary-to-fact subjunctive

B. Scansion

Met. 6.61–69 (via our Opera page)

C. Essay

How does love or eros manifest itself in the Metamorphoses? Are erotic stories appropriate subject matter for an epic poem? Be sure to cite specifics from the text.