LATIN POETIC LANGUAGE

1. The choice of poetic words, e.g.:

   letum for mors,   ensis for gladius
   natus for filius,   tellus for terra

2. Greek words and names, e.g.:

   aër (air),   aura (draught of air)
   antrum (grotto, cave),   Hymenæus (the god of marriage)

3. A simplex instead of a composite, e.g.:

   legere for colligere
   tendere for contendere

1. Formation of the genitive plural:

   -um instead -ōrum, e.g.

   rex superum for rex superorum ;    deum for deorum
   [in the 3. decl., -um instead of -ium :  ultima cælestum for ultima cælestium]

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2. Formation of the accusative plural of the 3rd declension (except for the normal pattern):

   -īs instead of -ēs, e.g.:

   inæqualīs for inæqualēs

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3. Formation of the perfect:

   -v- is often dropped between vowels, resulting in contracted forms, e.g.:

   mutāstis for mutā(vi)stis   petiērunt for petī(v)ērunt
   portāsse for portā(vi)sse
   nōrant for nō(ve)rant
   vocārunt for vocā(vē)runt

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4. Formation of the 3rd person plural active of the perfect:

   -ēre instead of -ērunt, e.g.:

   dixēre for dixērunt
   fugēre for fugērunt

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5. Formation of the 2nd person singular mediopassive:

   -re instead of -ris, e.g.:

   laudābĕre for laudābĕris

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6. Greek names and substantives are often inflected in the Greek way:

   Nom. sg. m. :   -eus
   Acc. sg. m. :   -ea, e.g.:

   Orpheus, Orphea

   Nom. sg. f. :   -ē   |   m. :   -ēs / -ās
   Acc. sg. f. :   -ēn   |   m. :   -ēn / -ān
   Gen. sg. f. :   -ēs, e.g.:

   Daphnē, Daphnēn, Daphnēs ;     Aeneās, Aeneān ;     Anchisēs, Anchisēn

   Nom. sg. m./f. :   -ŏs,  e.g. :

   Delŏs

   in words with stems ending in consonants:

   Nom. sg. m./f. :   -consonant
   Acc. sg. m./f. :   -ă
   Acc. pl. m./f. :   -ăs
   Nom. pl. m./f. :   -ĕs, e.g.:

   æther, æthera ;       aër, aëra ;     Troăs (~ Troēs) ;     Belidĕs

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1. Poetry often uses the

   Dativus auctoris instead of a/ab + Abl., e.g.:

   « fratri necatus »   for   « a fratre necatus »

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2. A preposition is frequently omitted (especially with designations of place)

   Ø instead of a preposition, e.g.:

   ære for in ære (in the air)
   lato arvo for in lato arvo (in the broad field)

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3. The plural (“poetic plural”) is often found where the sense would normally require the singular:

   Plural instead of singular, e.g.:

   silentia for silentium

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4. Designation of an object with respect to which something is said is often expressed through an imitation of the Greek accusative case:

   “accusative of respect to which”  (« Accusativus Græcus »)

   soluta comas = disheveled with respect to one’s hair = the disheveled hair

   adoperta vultum = covered with respect to one’s face = the covered face

   cura animum incensus = inflamed in heart by worry (with respect to the heart)

   equus tremit artus = the horse trembles in its limbs

   femur ictus = hit in the thigh

   capita ante aras Phrygio velamur amictu = Before the altars we are veiled as to (= we veil) our heads with the Phrygian veil.

   tremis ossa pavore = you are trembling in your bones for fear

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The most important elements follow in alphabetic order (the examples are from Ovid’s Metamorphoses).

1. Pictorial word placement

   The positioning of the words corresponds to the content, paints a picture of it.

   (contulerant) arto luctantia nexu / pectora pectoribus (6,242f.)
   “struggling in tight embrace, (they pressed) chest against chest”

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2. Alliteration

   The occurrence of the same sound or letter at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words for aural effect:

   1. onomatopœia (ὀνοματοποιΐα):  vela dabat ventis...navita (1,132f.)
      “The sailor … gave his sails to the winds” (compare “away with the wind”)
   2. ordering words according to their content, independent of syntactic relationship:
      aspirate.../ ad mea...deducite tempora... (1,3f.)
      “(o gods) breathe (on my undertakings) / bring (perpetual song) down to my times”

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3. Anaphora (Greek:  ἀναφορά = “a rising;  repetition”).  Adjective:  anaphoric.

   Repetition of a word at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses to “raise” the purport, e.g.:

   Non tuba..., non cornua..., / non galeæ, non ensis erat. (1,98f.)
   “there was no tuba, no horns, no helmets, no sword.”
   
   Dumque sitim sedare cupit,... / dumque bibit,... (3,415f.)
   “And while he wants to slake his thirst, … / while he drinks, …”

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4. Antithesis

   The “contraposition” of two opposed concepts or thoughts, e.g.:

   ille – nos       ille – me       ille – ego       illi – mihi       corpus – vox
   omnia possideat, non possidet aëra Minos (8,187)
   “He may possess everything, but Minos does not possess the air.”

   Antithesis is often specially arranged in a chiasmus (as in our example) or in a parallelism.

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5. Antonomasia (Greek:  ἀντονομασία “calling by another name”)

   Naming with another name instead of the (regular) proper name;  substitution of an epithet or title for a proper name, e.g.:

   Latogeni:  “those born of Latona, i.e. Apollo and Artemis/Diana”

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6. Picture

   A pictorial expression is used for clarification or stress, e.g.:

   aurea ætas:  the age is not made of gold, but “pure and incorrupt like gold”

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7. Chiasm (Greek:  χιασμός “crosswise placement”)

   Two words, grammatical constructions, or concepts, are repeated in reverse order, as:  a b b a:

   nocens	ferrum	ferroque	nocentius	aurum	(1,141)
   a	b	b	a

   “Harmful iron — and gold, more harmful than iron.”

   On the name:  Written beneath one another, the two word groups involved exhibit the form of the Greek letter ╳ (Chi).
   		nocens		ferrum
   		a	╳	b
   		ferrum		nocentius
   		b		a

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8. Ellipsis (Greek:  ἔλλειψις “deficiency;  a leaving out”)

   Omission of a word or words that are superfluous or able to be understood from contextual clues, e.g.:

   Talibus (sc. dictis) hanc genitor (sc. adloquitur)   (15,807)
   “Her father speaks to her with such words.”

   The omission of esse, est, sunt, erat, fuit and the like is particularly frequent.

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9. Enallage (Greek:  ἐναλλαγή = “interchange, exchange”);  substitution of one grammatical form for another (possibly incorrect) one

   “Switching” word relationships;  grammatical reference of an adjective, not to the noun to which it belongs by meaning, but to another concept (usually close in meaning).

   inhospita tecta tyranni   (1,197)
   “the inhospitable house of the tyrant” — in fact it is not the house that is inhospitable, but the tyrant.

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10. Hyperbaton (Greek:  ὑπερβατόν “to be passed over;  overstepping;  transposition”)

    Inversion of the normal order of words for the sake of emphasis;  “separation” of two syntactically closely connected words (especially noun and attribute) by placing between them another clause member not belonging there.  Important words are frequently positioned at the beginning and end of the verse or sentence, e.g.:

    in nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas / corpora.    (1,1f.)
    “My mind leads me to speak of forms changed
    into new bodies.”

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11. Enjambment

    (Special case of № 10:   Word groups are distributed over several verses)  Extension of a clause into the next verse  (Non-coincidence of the ends of a clause and a verse):

    In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas
    corpora. | Di, cœptis — nam vos mutastis et illas …   (1,1f.)
    “My mind leads me to speak of forms changed
    into new bodies:  O gods, my undertakings — for you have likewise changed the forms …”

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12. Hyperbole (Greek:  ὑπερβολή “a passing over;  excess”)

    “Exaggeration”;  a statement that goes beyond credibility, e.g.:

    Non mihi si linguæ centum sint oraque centum, …
    omnia pœnarum percurrere nomina possim.  (Verg. Aen. 6,625/7)
    “Even if I had a hundred tongues and a hundred mouths, …
    I could not run through all of the names of the punishments.”

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13. Irony (Greek:  εἰρωνείᾱ “dissimulation, disguise;  pretext;  irony”)

    Substitution of the actual expression by an opposite one whose true meaning becomes clear from the context.

    cf. iste bonus imperator
    “that good general”

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14. Iteratio

    Repetition of the same word shortly afterward, e.g.:

    Omnia possideat, non possidet...  (8,187)
    “He may possess everything;  he does not possess…”

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15. Climax (Greek:  κλῖμαξ “ladder;  staircase”)

    Intensification of expressions, e.g.:

    cf.:  Veni, vidi, vici
    “I came, saw, conquered.”

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16. Onomatopœia (Greek:  ὀνοματοποιΐα “name-building”)

    Through the accumulation of certain sounds an aspect of meaning is portrayed;  formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named.

    Quamvis sint sub aqua, sub aqua maledicere temptant.  (6,376)
    “Although they are under water, they try to curse.”  (Of the quacking of frogs.)
    
    flavaque de viridi stillabant ilice mella  (1,112)
    “And the blond honey dripped from the green holm-oak.”

    (The a- and i-sounds imitate the dripping of the honey.)

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17. Litotes (Greek:  λιτότης “plainness;  simplicity”)

    “Simplicity”;  a relatively high degree is expressed through the negation of its opposite.

    non ignoro		(I am not ignorant) ≈ I know quite well
    non humilis mulier		(a not humble lady) ≈ a proud woman

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18. Metaphor (Greek:  μεταφορά “Carrying elsewhere, transfer;  alteration”);

    Adj. metaphorical   Use of a graphic expression for an actual one (usually a more concrete one for a more general one), e.g.:

    viscera terræ  (1,138) “the bowels of the earth” — pictorial for the interior of the earth

    Depiction by means of several successive metaphors is called an Allegory.

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19. Metonymie (Greek:  μετωνυμία “change of name”;   in rhetoric, “the use of one word for another”)

    A word is used in an unusual but semantically related meaning, e.g.:

    a)  the name of a divinity instead of his of her domain

    Ceres for “bread / nourishment” (which is overseen by the goddess Ceres)
    Vulcanus for “fire”

    b)  a body organ instead of what it produces

    ora for “words” (ora = “mouths”)

    c)  the material instead of a product made of it

    ferrum (iron) frequently stands for “sword”

    d)  a concrete expression instead of an abstract one

    thalami (m.pl. literally “marriage bed”) for “marriage”

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20. Parallelism (Greek:  παραλληλισμός “placing similar things alongside one another, placing side by side, repetition [of ideas in a compound];  equating of payments”)

    Two semantically and/or syntactically corresponding word pairs or word groups are arranged in the order  a  b   a b,   e.g.:

    lurida	terribiles	miscent	aconita	novercæ	(1,147)
    a	b		a	b

    “ghastly stepmothers mix deadly poison-herbs”

    On the name:  Written underneath one another, the two word pairs show a parallel arrangement.
    		lurida		terribiles
    		a		b
    		|		|
    		aconita		novercæ
    		a		b

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21. Pars pro toto (Synecdoche — Greek:  συνεκδοχή “Understanding one thing with another;”  hence, in rhetoric, synecdoche, an indirect mode of expression, “when the whole is put for a part or vice versa”)

    A part stands for the whole to which it belongs.

    tectum (roof) for “house”
    carina (keel) for “ship”
    os (more often ora;  mouth) for “face”

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22. Pleonasm (Greek:  πλεονασμός “superabundance, excess”), adjective pleonastic

    The addition of elements superfluous in themselves because the meaning has already been conveyed by expressed or understood factors (e.g., “bottomless abyss”), to increase the force of a concept.

    primus … ante omnes       (Verg. Aen. 2,40)
    “as the first … before all others”

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23. Rhetorical Question

    A statement which for effect is put in the form of a question and needs no answer.

    Quis enim neget hoc?       (6,193)
    “Who could deny this?”  (Meaning:  No one can deny this.)

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24. Variatio

    Variation in expression:  Syntactic equivalents (clauses and sentence parts) are formally expressed differently (e.g., change of number, switches between a single word and a circumlocution or between a simple sentence part and a subordinate clause;  in the example:  a change from an infinitive to a substantive.).

    Non egredi mœnia neque periculum in aperto audebant.       (Tac., Hist. 3, 76, 1)
    “They risked neither leaving the walls nor danger out in the open.”

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25. Comparison

    Portraying the common content of two different processes which are linked to one another with “like/as (- so).”

    (Dædalus) ante volat comitique timet, velut ales, … quæ... prolem produxit       (8,213f.)
    “Dædalus flies ahead and fears for his companion, like a bird that has led its brood out.”

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Thus artistic effect is produced largely through the choice of words, sentence structure, tempo of the expression (saying much through few, or little through many, words), the sober narration of content, or the charming depiction of details, a wealth of pictures and comparisons, dramatic puposiveness, logical argumentation or the stirring of emotions, evocation of moods, etc.  If we are to achieve a deeper understanding of the text, of the work of art, and gain a more profound experience likewise of precisely its esthetic dimensions, then the effects the poet is aiming at must be investigated, as well as the means with which he linguistically seeks to effectuate his intention — something that can be gained only by involvement with the original, since all of that is for the most part untranslateable.