Let's work on your memorization project! First, listen to the pronunciation in the video. Then pursue one of the options below it.
Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris
Italiam, fato profugus, Laviniaque venit
litora, multum ille et terris iactatus et alto
vi superum saevae memorem Iunonis ob iram;
multa quoque et bello passus, dum conderet urbem,
inferretque deos Latio, genus unde Latinum,
Albanique patres, atque altae moenia Romae.
Musa, mihi causas memora, quo numine laeso,
quidve dolens, regina deum tot volvere casus
insignem pietate virum, tot adire labores
impulerit. Tantaene animis caelestibus irae?
Option 1:
Write these lines out in three different ways. One might be pencil and paper. One might be marker and cardboard. One might be invisible ink. Maybe on a white board. Maybe on a mirror with a whiteboard marker. Maybe you will write very very tiny on the back of a postage stamp. It's up to you. Upload images of your three different versions in writing.
OR
Option 2:
Choose three different locations to record yourself saying the lines out loud. Maybe once standing on the porch at midnight, one lying in the crawl space, one sitting at your desk, one in a moving vehicle. Don't worry about perfect pronunciation or memorization -- just show us evidence that you've pronounced the words in three different locations.
Writing Assignments:
Your outline for your argument paper (see last week's assignment) will be due on Tuesday (March 27) and your rough draft for your argument paper will be due on Thursday (March 29).
AP Language and Composition:
Please read "Discourse Four" by Renee Descartes in your World of Ideas anthology.
Quiz:
1. What do the Trojans hear when they're floating past the island of Circe?
2. What prophecy has been given to Latinus?
3. How does Allecto get into the mind of Amata, Latinus' wife? Does she turn Dionysian or Apollonian?
4. How does Allecto mess with Turnus, leader of the Rutulians?
5. What ally does Aeneas find to help him fight the Latins?
6. How does Vulcan decorate Aeneas' cool new shield?
7. How does the Trojan fleet escape being burned up by Turnus and his fellas?
8. What two Trojans go out on a cool Diomedes-and-Odysseus-like mission to kill some Latins, and how does that work out for them?
9. What Latin hero claims to be the new Achilles?
10. How does Turnus escape, when the Trojans have driven him back to the banks of the Tiber?
"Dido's Lament," from the libretto by Nahum Tate from the opera Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell
Recitative
Thy hand, Belinda, darkness shades me,
On thy bosom let me rest,
More I would, but Death invades me;
Death is now a welcome guest.
Aria
When I am laid, am laid in earth, May my wrongs create
No trouble, no trouble in thy breast;
Remember me, remember me, but ah! forget my fate.
Remember me, but ah! forget my fate.
Here's a link to a video where you can listen and watch the sheet music at the same time.
Here's a link to a video where you can watch actors on the stage.
Here's a link to Jeff Buckley singing it at the Meltdown Festival in 1995 in London.
Creative Assignments:
Imagine you are planning an operatic illustration of Book IV of the Aeneid, like Henry Purcell's opera. Sketch out six songs you would include. You don't have to actually write the songs, but say what the song would be (use vocabulary below), who would sing it, what the title would be, and what the song would be about. Make sure if you choose this one you wait to look at the actual libretto until after you've put your own spin on it. Your titles and suggestions can be comical. Here are the types of songs in an opera:
Aria: One singer, expressing thoughts and feelings, like a soliloquy in a play.
Duet: A song for two voices -- could be lovers, could express conflict/argument, or union.
Ensemble: Multiple members of the cast singing, possibly expressing different emotions.
Recitative: Not a formal song, more like singing-talking where the plot moves forward between the songs.
Finale: The last big number of an act or of the whole opera.
OR
Using whatever visual medium you choose, illustrate this awesome weird priestess from Dido's mad ramblings:
Near the ends of the Ocean and where the sun sets
Ethiopia lies, the furthest of lands, where Atlas,
mightiest of all, turns the sky set with shining stars:
I’ve been told of a priestess, of Massylian race, there,
a keeper of the temple of the Hesperides, who gave
the dragon its food, and guarded the holy branches of the tree,
scattering the honeydew and sleep-inducing poppies.
With her incantations she promises to set free
what hearts she wishes, but bring cruel pain to others:
to stop the rivers flowing, and turn back the stars:
she wakes nocturnal Spirits: you’ll see earth yawn
under your feet, and the ash trees march from the hills.
OR
Take a look at the libretto (script) for Dido and Aeneas. Choose one act of the three to rewrite in modern language. You'll need the characters, and about the same number of lines for each character, but you can have them say whatever you want.
Writing Assignments:
In class we developed some ideas about which heroic archetype would best represent the American ideal for a a national epic. You divided into teams and chose archetypes to prepare for a debate. Your writing assignment this week is to write your opening statement or your closing statement, depending on which role you have decided to take on the team. Remember to employ at least one rhetorical strategy and be convincing! Rhetorical strategies we reviewed in class: analogy, narrative, historical or literary example, appeal to pride, imagery, logic, facts, statistics. Do NOT post your statement to Google+ -- instead turn it in to me in class on Thursday after the debate. Your essay will serve as your team's opening or closing statement for this short debate, so it should be around 300 words.
Paper Assignments:
It's time for our next paper! We're going to write the argument paper next, instead of the rhetorical analysis -- this is a switch from the plan but I think it works with what we are discussing now. Your prompt for the argument paper is as follows:
Comic book superheroes are a specifically American idea. One could argue that they stand in for mythological characters like Greek or Norse gods. Sometimes figures from mythology show up on comic book pages! But which comic book character best represents the American idea, and would make the best epic hero for America? Would it be Captain America? Superman? Spiderman? Wonder Woman? Would it be someone with alien origins like Clark Kent or an "Everyman" like Peter Parker? Your assignment for Tuesday is to decide which superhero you will choose and what archetype they represent. This is mostly a thinking assignment, but to insure that you're not doing your thinking in the back seat of the van on the way to class, please type and print this assignment for credit.
AP Language and Composition:
Please read, in your World of Ideas anthology, the essay by Ruth Benedict, "The Pueblos of New Mexico." She applies Nietzche's concepts of Apollonian and Dionysian to North American native tribes.
OPTIONAL: In class on Tuesday we discussed a plan for the synthesis essay about cyberbullying and the responsibility of schools to discipline their students for stuff that happens off campus. If I were you and I were prepping for the exam, I would write that essay and I would ask the teacher to read it. And if I were the teacher, I would read it and give feedback. Quiz:
1. How does Dido's sister Anna feel about her getting together with Aeneas?
2. What is Aeneas busy doing when Mercury finds him with Jupiter's message?
3. What curse does Dido bring down on Aeneas before she kills herself?
4. What animal crawls up out of Anchises' tomb and eats Aeneas' sacrifice?
5. Why do you think Virgil just had to add some athletic competitions in his epic?
6. Who burns up the Trojan ships while the athletes are competing?
7. Neptune promises safe passage to Aeneas, but says that he will lose one guy. Who is that one guy?
8. Give one of the Sibyl's prophecies.
9. Why can some people NOT cross the river Styx?
10. What is Dido's reaction to Aeneas when they are reunited in the underworld?
BONUS: Summarize Anchises' awesome philosophical musings in one sentence.
Virgil's Aeneid, translated by Robert Fagles, Books 1-3
Short Read:
John Dryden's 1697 translation of the Aeneid, lines 1-11:
Arms, and the man I sing, who, forc'd by fate,
And haughty Juno's unrelenting hate,
Expell'd and exil'd, left the Trojan shore.
Long labors, both by sea and land, he bore,
And in the doubtful war, before he won
The Latian realm, and built the destin'd town;
His banish'd gods restor'd to rites divine,
And settled sure succession in his line,
From whence the race of Alban fathers come,
And the long glories of majestic Rome.
O Muse! the causes and the crimes relate;
What goddess was provok'd, and whence her hate;
Robert Fagles translation of the Aeneid, lines 1-11:
Wars and a man I sing—an exile driven on by Fate,
he was the first to flee the coast of Troy,
destined to reach Lavinian shores and Italian soil,
yet many blows he took on land and sea from the gods above—
thanks to cruel Juno’s relentless rage—and many losses
he bore in battle too, before he could found a city,
bring his gods to Latium, source of the Latin race,
the Alban lords and the high walls of Rome.
Tell me,
Muse, how it all began. Why was Juno outraged?
What could wound the Queen of the Gods with all her power?
Why did she force a man, so famous for his devotion,
to brave such rounds of hardship, bear such trials?
Can such rage inflame the immortals’ hearts?
Horace's Ode #3 from Book 1: To Virgil, Setting Off to Greece
May the goddess, queen of Cyprus,
and Helen’s brothers, the brightest of stars,
and father of the winds, Aeolus,
confining all except Iapyga, guide you,
ship, that owes us Virgil, given
to your care, guide you to Attica’s shores,
bring him safely there I beg you,
and there watch over half of my spirit.
Triple bronze and oak encircled
the breast of the man who first committed
his fragile bark to the cruel sea,
without fearing the fierce south-westerlies
fighting with the winds from the north,
the sad Hyades, or the raging south,
master of the Adriatic,
whether he stirs or he calms the ocean.
What form of death could he have feared,
who gazed, dry-eyed, on swimming monsters,
saw the waves of the sea boiling,
and Acroceraunia’s infamous cliffs?
Useless for a wise god to part
the lands, with a far-severing Ocean,
if impious ships, in spite of him,
travel the depths he wished inviolable.
Daring enough for anything,
the human race deals in forbidden sin.
That daring son of Iapetus
brought fire, by impious cunning, to men.
When fire was stolen from heaven
its home, wasting disease and a strange crowd
of fevers covered the whole earth,
and death’s powers, that had been slow before
and far away, quickened their step.
Daedalus tried the empty air on wings
that were never granted to men:
Hercules’ labours shattered Acheron.
Nothing’s too high for mortal men:
like fools, we aim at the heavens themselves,
sinful, we won’t let Jupiter
set aside his lightning bolts of anger.
Here's another translation, in rhyme:
Thus may Cyprus' heavenly queen,
Thus Helen's brethren, stars of brightest sheen,
Guide thee! May the sire of wind
Each truant gale, save only Zephyr, bind!
So do thou, fair ship, that ow'st
Virgil, thy precious freight, to Attic coast,
Safe restore thy loan and whole,
And save from death the partner of my soul!
Oak and brass of triple fold
Encompass'd sure that heart, which first made bold
To the raging sea to trust
A fragile bark, nor fear'd the Afric gust
With its Northern mates at strife,
Nor Hyads' frown, nor South-wind fury-rife,
Mightiest power that Hadria knows,
Wills he the waves to madden or compose.
What had Death in store to awe
Those eyes, that huge sea-beasts unmelting saw,
Saw the swelling of the surge,
And high Ceraunian cliffs, the seaman's scourge?
Heaven's high providence in vain
Has sever'd countries with the estranging main,
If our vessels ne'ertheless
With reckless plunge that sacred bar transgress.
Daring all, their goal to win,
Men tread forbidden ground, and rush on sin:
Daring all, Prometheus play'd
His wily game, and fire to man convey'd;
Soon as fire was stolen away,
Pale Fever's stranger host and wan Decay
Swept o'er earth's polluted face,
And slow Fate quicken'd Death's once halting pace.
Daedalus the void air tried
On wings, to humankind by Heaven denied;
Acheron's bar gave way with ease
Before the arm of labouring Hercules.
Nought is there for man too high;
Our impious folly e'en would climb the sky,
Braves the dweller on the steep,
Nor lets the bolts of heavenly vengeance sleep.
Here's the Latin, in case you're interested:
Sic te diva potens Cypri,
Sic fratres Helenae, lucida sidera,
Ventorumque regat pater
Obstrictis aliis praeter Iapyga,
Navis, quae tibi creditum
Debes Vergilium finibus Atticis,
Reddas incolumem precor
Et serves animae dimidium meae.
Illi robur et aes triplex
Circa pectus erat, qui fragilem truci
Commisit pelago ratem
Primus, nec timuit praecipitem Africum
Decertantem Aquilonibus
Nec tristis Hyadas nec rabiem Noti,
Quo non arbiter Hadriae
Maior, tollere seu ponere volt freta.
Quem mortis timuit gradum,
Qui siccis oculis monstra natantia,
Qui vidit mare turbidum et
Infamis scopulos, Acroceraunia?
Nequiquam deus abscidit
Prudens Oceano dissociabili
Terras, si tamen impiae
Non tangenda rates transiliunt vada.
Audax omnia perpeti
Gens humana ruit per vetitum nefas.
Audax Iapeti genus
Ignem fraude mala gentibus intulit.
Post ignem aetheria domo
Subductum macies et nova febrium
Terris incubuit cohors,
Semotique prius tarda necessitas
Leti corripuit gradum.
Expertus vacuum Daedalus aera
Pennis non homini datis;
Perrupit Acheronta Herculeus labor.
Nil mortalibus arduist;
Caelum ipsum petimus stultitia, neque
Per nostrum patimur scelus
Iracunda Iovem ponere fulmina.
Oh my gosh, you can LISTEN TO THE LATIN:
Creative Assignment:
Read Horace's ode, "To Virgil, Setting Off to Greece" at least twice. Write your own poem in the style of Horace's ode, with the same theme: humankind's bravery in conquering the obstacles nature has set for us. You could talk about climbers who have reached the top of mountains, or astronauts who went to the moon, or adventurers to the North Pole, or any other inspiring acts of bravery. It isn't necessary to exactly mimic Horace's rhythm. Take as your inspiration the line "Daring enough for anything, the human race deals in forbidden sin." (Or, if you like the rhyming version better, "Daring all, their goal to win, men tread forbidden ground, and rush on sin" works too.)
OR
Compare the two versions of the opening lines of the Aeneid, and the two versions of the ode. Decide whether you think it is better to translate the Latin into English using rhymes and a static meter, or whether it is better to translate using more irregular meter and words that best fit the meaning. Write a 250 word essay claiming one or the other is better, and use specific lines from the two versions of either poems to back up your claim.
ALSO:
Please finish work on your monster project, collaborating with the Play & Learn students. Those will be due March 22, but can be turned in any time. Don't forget! The little kids are depending on you. :)
Writing Assignment:
Your revision of the synthesis paper is due in class on Thursday, March 15. In a folder, you will turn in the following:
Your first draft, with my comments on it.
Your partner's peer editing on your other copy of your first draft.
Your final draft.
In order to get credit for your final draft, you must show significant revision. All three elements must have your name on them. Please double space with one inch margins. Printing on both sides is ok.
Quiz:
1. Why is Juno (still) mad at the Trojans?
2. What goddess appears to Aeneas in disguise, and what is her relationship to him?
3. What horribly familiar story is depicted on the walls of Carthage?
4. How does Venus make sure that Aeneas will have a fine time in Carthage?
5. Who is the only guy to worry that there might be issues with the Greek's giant horse present, and what happens to him?
6. What happens to poor old Priam in the invasion?
7. Anchises doesn't want to leave Troy, but what convinces him to go?
8. Where does Anchises think they should found their new city? Is he right?
9. Who did Andromache marry after Hektor died?
10. What three familiar dangers do we find in Book III of the Aeneid, that we remember from Odysseus' adventures in the same territory?
Quiz II from The Frogs: (send to Nathan)
1. Identify the prologue, parados, agon, parabasis, and exodos of the second act.
2. Why isn't Sophocles in the contest?
3. To whom does Euripides pray?
4. Explain this line of the chorus: "But while one pins his hopes on his neatly turned wit, / The other relies upon weight." Who's who?
5. To what is Aeschylus repeatedly compared by the chorus and Dionysus? (hint: weather)
6. What does Euripides initially find fault with in Aeschylus' tragedies?
7. What does Aeschylus initially find fault with in Euripides' tragedies?
8. What does Euripides say is the duty of a poet?
9. How does Euripides critique the prologue from The Libation Bearers? What about Aeschylus' critique of Oedipus?
10. What is the point of the "little bottle of oil" bit?
11. Who wins the weighing and why?
12. What political matter does Dionysus ask the poets' opinions on?
13. Why is it ironic that Euripides is double-crossed by Dionysus?
14. Whom does the chorus attack in its parabasis?
