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

The Roman Republic (509-27 BC)

Political Changes and Institutions

During this period, Rome became a republic. Power was divided among three main institutions:

• Comitia: Comprised of all Roman citizens, its functions were to pass laws and elect the magistrates.
• Magistrates: Elected annually, these officials held specific roles:
  • Consul: Commanded the army.
  • Praetor: Oversaw justice.
  • Censor: Maintained the list of citizens.
  • Aedile: Managed the police and public works.
  • Quaestor: Handled taxes.
  • Plebeian Tribune: Defended the rights of the plebeians.
• Senate: Composed of 300 former magistrates, its functions were to approve laws passed by the Comitia, control the magistrates, and decide on foreign policy.

Initially, only patricians held political rights. The plebeians... Continue reading "The Roman Republic and Empire: From Senate to Emperor" »

Expand your lexicon with this curated list of 40 key terms, covering nouns, verbs, adjectives, and expressions. Each entry includes the part of speech and a clear definition, ensuring accuracy and clarity.

Words 1–10: Nature and Confinement

1. Twig (n.): A small branch or stem of a tree or plant.
2. Crumpled (adj.): Crushed or wrinkled.
3. Mound (n.): A small hill, especially one that has been made.
4. Clump (n.): A group of trees or plants growing very close together.
5. Ordeal (n.): A prolonged, painful, or horrifying experience.
6. Dense (adj.): Crowded, closely packed together.
7. Ape (n.): A large, tailless primate of a group.
8. Snare (n.): A trap for catching animals.
9. Captive (adj.): Imprisoned, having no freedom.
10. Smuggle (v.): To move goods illegally into or out of

Theory of Criticism

He believes that criticism should be descriptive (tries to describe), interpretative (tries to give the meaning), and objective. A criticism that engages the text directly without personal or historical influences, trying not to add anything of your own personality.

If I form the subject, it will be subjective. So it has to form itself. The critic has not to form the judgment, but it can’t form itself. So knowing that the critic, at the end, is the one able to form the judgment, he has to do it objectively, giving the appearance that it was formed itself.

The critic should “communicate first knowledge and let his own judgment pass along with it”. He assumes it is impossible that your judgment is not yours, but don’t... Continue reading "Objective Literary Criticism: Theory, History, and Race" »

The Distinctive Title of Tristram Shandy

A Parody of Traditional Novel Titling

The title of Tristram Shandy parodies the tradition of titling novels like ‘Of Lives and Adventures’. The novel’s title, in which a romance given name is undercut by a commonplace, even comic or satirical, surname, had other kinds of precedent in recent fiction.

The Oxymoronic Nature of the Title

The title itself is an oxymoron: a rough summary, in its satirical incongruity, of the mode of writing known as anti-romance or comic romance.

Sterne's Experimental Prose and Comic Romance

Instability of 18th-Century Narrative Terminology

The instability of terminology for long fictions during Sterne’s lifetime was one symptom of the experimentalism of prose narrative during... Continue reading "Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy: Satire and Narrative Form" »

Troy was a city situated in the far northwest of the region known as Asia Minor, now known as Anatolia in modern Turkey, near the southwest mouth of the Dardanelles Strait and northwest of Mount Ida. There were up to 20 cities around Troy. The present-day location is known as Hissarlik. It was the setting of the Trojan War described in the Greek Epic Cycle, in particular in The Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer. Homer is a master of narrative. He is the greatest author that has ever lived. His work is classical, but he had some things that are incredibly modern.

The Troy of Homer is Troy 7. It came to a violent end around 1270 BC; houses were burnt, and the city was sacked. The king of Troy was Priam (non-Greek). He was the... Continue reading "The Historical Significance of Troy in Greek Mythology" »

Homer: Author of Ancient Epics

Homer is the name ascribed by the Ancient Greeks to the semi-legendary author of the two epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey, central works of Greek literature. Many accounts of Homer’s life circulated in classical antiquity, the most widespread being that he was a blind bard from Ionia, a region of modern-day Turkey. However, modern scholarly consensus holds that these traditions lack historical value.

The Homeric Question & Authorship

The Homeric Question—by whom, when, where, and under what circumstances The Iliad and The Odyssey were composed—continues to be debated. Broadly speaking, modern scholarly opinion on the authorship issue falls into two main camps. One group holds that most of The Iliad... Continue reading "Homer's Enduring Legacy: Unraveling the Epic Poet" »

Literary Elements Defined

Key Literary Terms

• Plot: The main events and sequence of a story.
• Setting: The time and place in which the action of a story occurs.
• Foreshadowing: Hints or clues about what is going to happen later in the story.
• Outcome: The resolution or ending of the story.
• Tone: The author's attitude toward the subject or audience, influencing how the reader perceives the story.
• Imagery: Descriptive language that appeals to the senses, creating mental images for the reader.

Beowulf: An Epic Poem Analysis

Beowulf Overview

• Original Language: Written in Old English (Anglo-Saxon language).
• Notable Translation: Translated by Francis Gummere in 1910.
• Author: Unknown.

Literary Elements in Beowulf

• Tone in Beowulf

  The poet is generally enthusiastic about

Essential English Vocabulary and Grammar Review

Shopping and General Vocabulary (English to Spanish)

This list includes key terms related to shopping, commerce, and general usage. Spelling and grammatical corrections have been applied, standardizing translations to Spanish.

• make up your mind → decidirse
• credit card → tarjeta de crédito
• trial period → período de prueba
• exchanged → intercambio / cambiado
• guarantee → garantía
• price tag → etiqueta de precio
• on sale → en oferta / en venta
• receipt → recibo / tique
• discount → descuento
• cashier → cajero/a
• refunded → reembolso / reembolsado
• special offers → ofertas especiales
• charged → cobrar / cargado
• reduce → reducido
• saved up → ahorrar / ahorrado
• bargains → gangas
• cash → dinero

Gulliver's Travels: Publication History

• Swift most probably had a transcribed copy of the text by the end of 1725. To keep the holograph safe (and perhaps to obscure his authorship) Swift had an additional copy made.
• This latter manuscript copy (made by an amanuensis) was sent to the printer in 1726 and was used to set the text of Gulliver's Travels.
• Swift set out for London from Dublin on 6 March 1726, bringing with him the copy for the printer. Shortly afterwards, Charles Ford arrived with the holograph.
• An approach to the publisher Benjamin Motte seems to have been made around 8 August by means of a letter from “Richard Sympson.”
• The letter was accompanied by ‘about a fourth part’ of the text of Gulliver's Travels as a sample.
• All materials

Authors and Works of the 16th Century

Peter Seraph: Poet and painter, his date of birth is unknown, and it is known he died around 1566. His poetry still presents points of contact with March. However, he used proper poetic forms of the Renaissance, such as the sonnet, and he cites poets of Greek and Latin classics (Homer, Virgil, and Ovid) and two Italian dolce stil nuovo poets (Dante and Petrarch) plus March. He also wrote in Catalan.

18th Century Authors

Francesc Vicent Garcia: He is considered one of the most outstanding authors of three centuries. Known as the Rector of Vallfogona, he was born in Tortosa and died in Vallfogona. His reputation is based on one aspect of his work: that which emphasizes a thick, deliberately exaggerated humor,... Continue reading "Authors and Literary Movements: 16th to 19th Century" »