|
|
 |
|
|
|
Latin: Vergil Course Perspective
|
|
| |
by Margaret A. Brucia
Latin Teacher
AP Latin
Earl L. Vandermeulen High School
Port Jefferson, New York
|
|
| | Please note: The official College Board® Course Description is available below in "More."
Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit. (Perhaps, at some future time, it will delight you to remember these things.) These words of Aeneas to his crew on the shores of Carthage may equally well be addressed to stalwart Latin students who read the AP Latin Vergil syllabus. The challenge is great, the rewards abundant. What will students learn from spending a year engaged in a close reading of the Aeneid? Besides improving their vocabulary and their translation skills, they will learn how to interpret and analyze poetry. Though narrative content is important, AP Latin students are trained to delve deeper. They will become sensitive to Vergil's style. They will learn how to support their observations about particular passages by referring specifically to the text. Their writing will improve and they will learn analytical skills that will serve them well in college and in life. In addition, they will have the opportunity to read one of the world's greatest works of literature in the original and to set it against the backdrop of Roman history.
How does a Latin teacher go about starting an AP Latin course? The first step is to become familiar with the course content, the methodology of instruction, and the exam format. Teacher-training workshops, ranging from one day to two weeks, are plentiful and are offered during the academic year and the summer months. In addition to local, state, regional, and national classical associations, the AP Central Web site is a valuable source of information that offers, among other things, course-specific electronic discussion groups on which teachers post questions and information relevant to their classes. Next, follow whatever model of instruction best fits your school's program. If low enrollment is a concern, consider combining eleventh- and twelfth-grade students and alternating the two AP Latin courses. Since both the AP Latin: Vergil and the AP Latin Literature courses are the equivalent of intermediate-level college Latin, there is no preferred or recommended sequence. What about students who want to continue with Latin but do not want (or are not able) to take such a rigorous course? All students may be successfully included in the course, with modifications made for those who will not take the AP Exam.
 About Electronic Discussion Groups
Perhaps the most important skill to emphasize in class is how to translate literally. Although Vergil's style is, for the most part, clear and direct, students must learn to blend accurate translation and comprehensible English. If, for example, a student were to translate Book 1, lines 56-57, celsa sedet Aeolus arce/ sceptra tenens, as "Lofty Aeolus sits in his fortress and he holds his scepter," instead of "Aeolus sits in his lofty fortress, holding his scepter," despite the fact that the student understands what is happening, the translation is not accurate. Celsa agrees with arce, not Aeolus, and tenens is a participle, not a main verb. The word sceptra, however, though plural here, may be translated in the singular as English usage prefers. How does a student learn to make these distinctions and decisions? Through practice and discussion in class.
Once students have acquired the skills necessary to produce accurate, literal translations, the next step is to teach them to use appropriate Latin words or phrases from a given passage to support their observations in essay questions. Students must realize that the burden of responsibility rests with them to convince the reader of their essay that they understand precisely what the Latin passage says. If, for example, students are asked to comment on Dido's state of mind in Book 4, line 450, Tum vero infelix fatis exterrita Dido mortem orat, and they suggest that she is agitated, they must be encouraged to incorporate such phrases as fatis exterrita or mortem orat into their essay.
The more exposure students have to AP-type questions, the better prepared they will be for the exam itself. Teachers who design classroom test questions commensurate with those on the AP Exam and grade them in a similar fashion do their students a great service. The Course Description for AP Latin contains an outline of the format of the exam. Samples of multiple-choice and free-response questions from past exams, as well as grading reports that explain how questions are scored, are other helpful resources. All of these are available at AP Central.
Because the multiple-choice section of the exam tests the student's ability to read Latin in general, questions based on passages written by authors other than Vergil appear. (There is, however, always one syllabus-based Vergil passage.) The more students practice reading Latin at sight, the better they will perform on this section. An interactive Web site, called the AP Latin Multiple-Choice Item Writing Tutorial, explains through examples how to answer and how to write multiple-choice questions. It can be found in "See Also" below and is well worth a visit.
Since students are expected to know the Aeneid in its entirety, it is important to provide them with a good, readable translation. The AP Latin Teacher's Guide, another College Board publication, offers a comprehensive list of texts, translations, and supplemental reading material that will help students understand the Aeneid as a complete work of literature. More than a good epic, the Aeneid is a multilayered political story filled with references to events in the recent past history of Vergil's day. Students will enjoy recognizing allusions to the civil wars, Cleopatra, and members of the imperial family. As important as it is to set aside time to teach or review Roman history, so it is to pace yourself. To read the amount of Latin that the course requires is time-consuming. Plan your strategy and count your lines to avoid a mad scramble to finish before the May exam. Try to build in time for review.
Teaching AP Latin Vergil is a challenge that is more than worth the effort, for the teacher and the student. Be prepared, have a plan, and then audentior ito (proceed more boldly)!
|
|
|
|
|
|
