Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Latin

Foundations of Ancient Greece

• The Ancient Greeks were excellent in poetry, politics, and philosophy.
• The Minoans were the earliest civilization in the vicinity of Greece.
• Mycenae: A fortress city surrounded by walls 10 feet thick and royal tombs.
• Homer: Blind poet and creator of the Iliad and Odyssey, two poems still widely read and admired.

Greek Mythology and Culture

• Zeus: King of the gods.
• Apollo: God of the sun.
• Poseidon: King of the sea.
• Agora: Marketplace, a busy place of commerce, conversation, and political debate.
• Gymnasium: Place of physical training and games of skill.
• Olympic Games: First held in 776 B.C. and conducted every 4 years in honor of Zeus.

Historical Figures and Leaders

• Darius I: Persian King.
• Leonidas: Spartan King.
• Pericles: Aristocrat

Modernist vs. Contemporary Poetry

To clarify, not all contemporary poetry is considered "modern" in the sense of the Modernist literary movement. The Modernist poets, such as T.S. Eliot, tended to favor intellect over emotion and valued themes of alienation and isolation as reactions to the Romanticism of the previous literary era. For contemporary poetry, common trends include stream of consciousness, free verse, and the preference for suggestion or ambiguity of ideas.

Key Characteristics of Modernist Poetry

Disrupted Syntax

Modernist poetry often features disrupted syntax, which refers to irregular sentence structures.

Stream of Consciousness

In addition, many Modernist poems feature a stream of consciousness presentation in which the narrator... Continue reading "Modernist Poetry: Characteristics and T.S. Eliot's Legacy" »

Adulterate

(v.) to corrupt, make worse by the addition of something of lesser value

• Synonyms: contaminate, pollute, sully
• Antonyms: purify, purge, expurgate

Ambidextrous

(adj.) able to use both hands equally well; very skillful; deceitful, hypocritical

• Synonyms: versatile, facile
• Antonyms: clumsy, all thumbs, maladroit

Augment

(v.) to make larger, increase

• Synonyms: enlarge, supplement, amplify
• Antonyms: decrease, diminish

Bereft

(adj., part.) deprived of; made unhappy through a loss

• Synonyms: bereaved
• Antonyms: replete, well provided

Deploy

(v.) to position or arrange; to utilize; to form up

• Synonyms: station, organize

Dour

(adj.) stern, unyielding, gloomy, ill-humored

• Synonyms: harsh, bleak, forbidding, saturnine
• Antonyms: cheery, inviting, genial

Fortitude

(n.)

Simple Present

Pres. Simp. -> She cleans her.. -> She has her brushes cleaned

Present Continuous

Past Simple

Past Continuous

Future Simple

Future Continuous

Present Perfect

Present Perfect Continuous

Past Perfect

Past Perfect Continuous

A more formidable objection to the plan of the book might be that I have taken too little into account the historical backgrounds of the poems I have discussed. An adequate answer to this charge will have to be furnished by the book itself, but I should like to forestall some misapprehensions, here and now. If literary history has not been emphasized in the pages that follow, it is not because I discount its importance, or because I have failed to take it into account. It is rather that I have been anxious to see what residuum, if any, is left after we have referred the poem to its cultural matrix.

The temper of our times is strongly relativistic. We have had impressed upon us the necessity for reading a poem in terms of its historical context,... Continue reading "Timeless Poetry: Beyond Historical Context" »

The Hellenic Branch

The only extant language in this branch is Modern Greek.

Greek is one of the oldest Indo-European languages. Mycenaean dates from 1300BC. The Ancient Greek of Homer was written from around 700BC. The major forms were Doric (Sparta), Ionic (Cos), Aeolic (Lesbos), and Attic (Athens). The latter is Classical Greek.

The New Testament of the Christian Bible was written in a form of 1st Century AD Greek called Koine. This developed into the Greek of the Byzantine Empire. Modern Greek has developed from this.

Greek has three genders and four cases for nouns but no form of the verb infinitive. The language has its own script, derived from Phoenician with the addition of symbols for vowels. It is one of the oldest alphabets in the world... Continue reading ""entirely belongs to" shareholding" »

Avant-Garde Movements

Favism

• Matisse: The Dessert, Harmony in Red (1908), Portrait of Madame Matisse (1905)
• Derain: The River Seine at Chatou (1906)
• Vlaminck
• Rouault

Cubism

• Picasso
• Braque: Woman with a Guitar (1913)
• Juan Gris: Portrait of Picasso (1912)

Expressionism

• Munch: The Scream (1893)
• Kirchner
• Nolde

Futurism

• Boccioni
• Giacometti

Cubist Sculpture

• Brancusi

Between-War Period

Dadaism

• Duchamp: Mona Lisa, Fountain (1917)
• Picabia
• Grosz: The Pillars of Society (1926)

Surrealism

• Dalí: The Apparition of Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach (1931), The Persistence of Memory (1931)
• Chagall: I and the Village (1911)
• Magritte: The Son of Man (1964)

Abstract Art

• Kandinsky: On White II (1923)
• Malevich
• Mondrian
• Klee: Red and White Domes (1914), Senecio (1922)
• Miró

Sculpture

• Brancusi
• Giacometti
• Moore:

Tipp-Ex Product Safety Warnings

Tipp-Ex is a white, semi-liquid correction fluid that dries rapidly. In case of contact with the eyes, rinse immediately and thoroughly with water. Failure to do so may result in the Tipp-Ex drying and hardening, potentially causing severe irritation or damage to this valuable organ.

Prohibited Uses

This product must not be used for the following purposes:

• Cleaning hair
• Makeup application
• Facial moisturizer
• As a pet or friend

Potential Effects of Inhalation

If this product is inhaled for approximately one minute, you may experience effects such as:

• Believing you possess superpowers
• Perceiving everything in slow motion
• Mistaking yourself for a bottle of Tipp-Ex and attempting to erase everything
• Being able to work for hours

Social Structure in Ancient Rome

3.1. Social Division

Roman society was divided into strict groups:

Citizens

• Patricians: A very small minority who lived in luxurious houses (domus). They were Roman noblemen considered to be descendants of Rome's founders, the patres. They owned all the land during the Republic, served in the Senate, and held the most important military and administrative posts.
• Plebeians: Most Romans belonged to this social group, which was composed of small farmers, peasants, and craftsmen. Although they could not participate in politics, they were permitted to vote. They engaged in continuous struggles with the Patricians, eventually forcing the passage of the Law of the Twelve Tables (451 BC) to secure their support. Consequently,

Henry James (1843-1916)

A Cosmopolitan Life

Born in New York in 1843, Henry James was a true cosmopolite, moving seamlessly between drawing rooms in Europe, England, and America. While he may have felt more at home in Europe, his American roots profoundly influenced his writing. His works often explore the complex relationship between American and European cultures, highlighting the confrontations and contrasts between these two worlds.

Early Influences and Literary Beginnings

In his youth, James's family embarked on a European journey, immersing themselves in the intellectual and cultural landscapes of Switzerland, France, and Germany. Upon returning to America, they settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a hub of intellectual thought. James's... Continue reading "Henry James: Exploring American Identity and European Influence" »