Latin Prose StyleLatin Prose StyleLatin Prose StyleLatin Prose StyleHow to recognize an attractive Latin sentence (not

just a grammatically correct one)

How to recognize an attractive Latin sentence (not just a grammatically correct one)

What is style?What is style?

You will have talked extensively about style while studying poetry earlier in the course; however, there is also a huge difference between good and bad style, and between different kinds of good style, in both Latin and English.

Think of a book or blog you may have read where you really liked how the sentences and thoughts were put together. Compare it to a book or blog where you may have liked the topic, but it was dull or painful to read. You’ve experienced prose style.

You will have talked extensively about style while studying poetry earlier in the course; however, there is also a huge difference between good and bad style, and between different kinds of good style, in both Latin and English.

Think of a book or blog you may have read where you really liked how the sentences and thoughts were put together. Compare it to a book or blog where you may have liked the topic, but it was dull or painful to read. You’ve experienced prose style.

Style--it’s more than figuresStyle--it’s more than figures

The rhetorical figures you learned in Unit 13 are an important part of style, and talking about their effect can be a very good way to analyze Latin prose. But it’s only a small part of good Latin. We just put it first because it’s technical, so we wanted it in the chapter with less set text to get through as well.

When writing essays, keep your eyes open for rhetorical figures, but don’t just play spot-the-figure. Think about how they enhance the meaning of the sentence, and how they relate to other elements of its structure and word choices.

The rhetorical figures you learned in Unit 13 are an important part of style, and talking about their effect can be a very good way to analyze Latin prose. But it’s only a small part of good Latin. We just put it first because it’s technical, so we wanted it in the chapter with less set text to get through as well.

When writing essays, keep your eyes open for rhetorical figures, but don’t just play spot-the-figure. Think about how they enhance the meaning of the sentence, and how they relate to other elements of its structure and word choices.

latin v. english stylelatin v. english style

You have probably noticed already that, when you translate Latin literally, you often end up saying things that your English teacher might mark down as ugly writing or occasionally even ungrammatical. Some differences between Latin and English style rules:

Latin really does not have the concept of a run-on sentence. There are good and bad ways to structure a long sentence, but no real idea of the maximum length for a good sentence as long as its structure is sound and elegant.

Latin does not consider the passive voice to be a style error. It is often elegant and can be helpful for avoiding ambiguity--or creating it, when you don’t want to disclose the doer of an action.

Latin can start a sentence with a relative pronoun referring to an antecedent in the sentence before. This is not only not incorrect, but is considered elegant because it ties the prose together.

You have probably noticed already that, when you translate Latin literally, you often end up saying things that your English teacher might mark down as ugly writing or occasionally even ungrammatical. Some differences between Latin and English style rules:

Latin really does not have the concept of a run-on sentence. There are good and bad ways to structure a long sentence, but no real idea of the maximum length for a good sentence as long as its structure is sound and elegant.

Latin does not consider the passive voice to be a style error. It is often elegant and can be helpful for avoiding ambiguity--or creating it, when you don’t want to disclose the doer of an action.

Latin can start a sentence with a relative pronoun referring to an antecedent in the sentence before. This is not only not incorrect, but is considered elegant because it ties the prose together.

Latin style, part 2Latin style, part 2

One of the biggest differences between the style of most Latin prose authors (definitely including Cicero) and most English prose is that you need FAR more connective words.

In English, you’re probably familiar with the concept of transitions between paragraphs. Most Latin authors take this even further. Normally, prose authors will use “little words” to make the logical relationship between each SENTENCE and the one before it clear. This is why you suddenly have the barrage of hard-to-translate words like nam and enim and so on when you transition to Latin written by Romans, not Latin teachers.

Leaving out the transitional words isn’t ungrammatical, but it’s a very striking stylistic choice (the name for this as a rhetorical figure is asyndeton), and Cicero is very sparing in his use of it.

One of the biggest differences between the style of most Latin prose authors (definitely including Cicero) and most English prose is that you need FAR more connective words.

In English, you’re probably familiar with the concept of transitions between paragraphs. Most Latin authors take this even further. Normally, prose authors will use “little words” to make the logical relationship between each SENTENCE and the one before it clear. This is why you suddenly have the barrage of hard-to-translate words like nam and enim and so on when you transition to Latin written by Romans, not Latin teachers.

Leaving out the transitional words isn’t ungrammatical, but it’s a very striking stylistic choice (the name for this as a rhetorical figure is asyndeton), and Cicero is very sparing in his use of it.

The Ciceronian sentenceThe Ciceronian sentence

You have probably noticed in your Ovid that Latin sentences can get. . .LOOOONNG. And Cicero was a master of majestic, beautifully constructed, totally controlled, and REALLY REALLY LONG sentences.

We will talk more about the logistics of attacking a Ciceronian sentence when we get to the reading in lesson 2. But for now, be aware that, much of the time, Latin prose authors considered complex sentences (i.e. ones with subordinate clauses, or maybe subordinate clauses inside other subordinate clauses) more elegant than compound sentences (i.e. sentences with a lot of conjunctions connecting clauses that could be independent).

You have probably noticed in your Ovid that Latin sentences can get. . .LOOOONNG. And Cicero was a master of majestic, beautifully constructed, totally controlled, and REALLY REALLY LONG sentences.

We will talk more about the logistics of attacking a Ciceronian sentence when we get to the reading in lesson 2. But for now, be aware that, much of the time, Latin prose authors considered complex sentences (i.e. ones with subordinate clauses, or maybe subordinate clauses inside other subordinate clauses) more elegant than compound sentences (i.e. sentences with a lot of conjunctions connecting clauses that could be independent).

Some cicero style quirksSome cicero style quirks

Compared to some competing orators of his day, Cicero did like to write (and speak) in a challenging, highly ornamented style--very different from some people such as Caesar or Brutus, who preferred a cleaner, plainer style for speeches. (NB for the stretch students--the fancier orators wanted to sound like they were from Greek-speaking parts of Asia Minor, and the plainer ones wanted to sound like 4th-century Athenians.)

Cicero’s delivery was also highly emotional compared to some of his rivals. In your reading, try to imagine his tone of voice and his gestures. There was a whole language of gestures, and a showy orator like Cicero would have very much “talked with his hands”. He would also play intensely on the audience’s emotions (in ways that would be completely inappropriate in modern houses of government or courtrooms), seems to have liked to act and often plays other characters in his speeches, and is widely reported to have had a biting, vicious and pretty personal sense of humor. Romans would have thought watching Cicero speak was fun, even though some of the less educated ones may well have lost track of his grammar partway through some sentences.

As you read the introduction to this speech, think--how is Cicero putting his words together to affect his audiences? Are there places where you can guess his tone of voice from the structure of the sentence?

Compared to some competing orators of his day, Cicero did like to write (and speak) in a challenging, highly ornamented style--very different from some people such as Caesar or Brutus, who preferred a cleaner, plainer style for speeches. (NB for the stretch students--the fancier orators wanted to sound like they were from Greek-speaking parts of Asia Minor, and the plainer ones wanted to sound like 4th-century Athenians.)

Cicero’s delivery was also highly emotional compared to some of his rivals. In your reading, try to imagine his tone of voice and his gestures. There was a whole language of gestures, and a showy orator like Cicero would have very much “talked with his hands”. He would also play intensely on the audience’s emotions (in ways that would be completely inappropriate in modern houses of government or courtrooms), seems to have liked to act and often plays other characters in his speeches, and is widely reported to have had a biting, vicious and pretty personal sense of humor. Romans would have thought watching Cicero speak was fun, even though some of the less educated ones may well have lost track of his grammar partway through some sentences.

As you read the introduction to this speech, think--how is Cicero putting his words together to affect his audiences? Are there places where you can guess his tone of voice from the structure of the sentence?

An advanced noteAn advanced note

While this is not necessary for Latin reading on this level, it’s a nice thing to include as a stretch topic for gifted students in the course.

Though Latin prose does not have a METER (i.e. a consistent rhythm), that does not mean that patterns of long and short syllables are totally irrelevant. You can affect the flow of a prose sentence with long and short syllables too--especially when you remember that these are literal longs and shorts, like half and quarter notes in music. It arguably records more of the original tone of voice than English prose does.

Where this is intentional, it’s called “prose meter”. Cicero contains a great deal of prose meter--though he carefully avoids any patterns that sound like poetry. Consider stretching yourself and looking for it.

While this is not necessary for Latin reading on this level, it’s a nice thing to include as a stretch topic for gifted students in the course.

Though Latin prose does not have a METER (i.e. a consistent rhythm), that does not mean that patterns of long and short syllables are totally irrelevant. You can affect the flow of a prose sentence with long and short syllables too--especially when you remember that these are literal longs and shorts, like half and quarter notes in music. It arguably records more of the original tone of voice than English prose does.

Where this is intentional, it’s called “prose meter”. Cicero contains a great deal of prose meter--though he carefully avoids any patterns that sound like poetry. Consider stretching yourself and looking for it.

Stylistic stuff also in poemsStylistic stuff also in poems

Many Latin stylistic devices can be used in either prose or poems. So look out for:

Word order that deviates from S-O-V (the most predictable and boring way to order a Latin sentence). Expect the first and last words of a sentence to be especially important--as though an English speaker was stressing them with tone of voice. If a word is in a weird place, brainstorm reasons why it might be more effective there than in the predictable place.

Interlocking patterns of words (especially nouns/adjectives), or nouns and adjectives that are especially far from each other (hyperbaton).

Any method of delaying a word critical to either grammar or the total point as long as possible. This isn’t to irritate you. It’s good old suspense.

Many Latin stylistic devices can be used in either prose or poems. So look out for:

Word order that deviates from S-O-V (the most predictable and boring way to order a Latin sentence). Expect the first and last words of a sentence to be especially important--as though an English speaker was stressing them with tone of voice. If a word is in a weird place, brainstorm reasons why it might be more effective there than in the predictable place.

Interlocking patterns of words (especially nouns/adjectives), or nouns and adjectives that are especially far from each other (hyperbaton).

Any method of delaying a word critical to either grammar or the total point as long as possible. This isn’t to irritate you. It’s good old suspense.

Some differences to expectSome differences to expect

While you can get very long sentences in hexameter poems, like your Ovid, many other Latin meters, such as the ones in Catullus and the elegiacs in Ovid’s Amores and Tristia, tend to encourage somewhat shorter sentences than in Ciceronian prose. Why do you think elegiac verse curtails sentence length?

The vocabulary in prose can be very different from poetry. Some words are discouraged in Latin prose because they sound too flowery or were already extremely archaic; on the other hand, you see many words in prose that poets avoid because they are hard to scan.

You will also see more normal grammar, such as your standard -erunt ending for 3rd plural perfect active verbs (the alternate ending only exists because -erunt is hard to scan).

While you can get very long sentences in hexameter poems, like your Ovid, many other Latin meters, such as the ones in Catullus and the elegiacs in Ovid’s Amores and Tristia, tend to encourage somewhat shorter sentences than in Ciceronian prose. Why do you think elegiac verse curtails sentence length?

The vocabulary in prose can be very different from poetry. Some words are discouraged in Latin prose because they sound too flowery or were already extremely archaic; on the other hand, you see many words in prose that poets avoid because they are hard to scan.

You will also see more normal grammar, such as your standard -erunt ending for 3rd plural perfect active verbs (the alternate ending only exists because -erunt is hard to scan).

Latin dictionLatin diction

By this point in Latin, you may have realized that, just like English, it contains synonyms. Which word an author uses out of competing possibilities can be an important part of style. This is called diction. (The structure of the sentence is called syntax.)

You were introduced to the wonders (and dubious server) of the Lewis and Short Latin dictionary earlier in the course. A good way to check whether an author is using a boring old word or a punchy/fancy/archaic word is to look at the L&S entry and see how long it is (more common words get longer entries!), and, to really stretch, whether your author uses it a lot, and whether you mostly see it in poems, prose or both. You can sometimes also work out how formal it is--Catullus uses a lot of slang, as does Cicero in his private letters.

By this point in Latin, you may have realized that, just like English, it contains synonyms. Which word an author uses out of competing possibilities can be an important part of style. This is called diction. (The structure of the sentence is called syntax.)

You were introduced to the wonders (and dubious server) of the Lewis and Short Latin dictionary earlier in the course. A good way to check whether an author is using a boring old word or a punchy/fancy/archaic word is to look at the L&S entry and see how long it is (more common words get longer entries!), and, to really stretch, whether your author uses it a lot, and whether you mostly see it in poems, prose or both. You can sometimes also work out how formal it is--Catullus uses a lot of slang, as does Cicero in his private letters.