Latin Literature OCR GCSE Messalina Lines 70-79 - Translation (+ style to add)

nam Claudius domum regressus, ubi cena vinoque incaluit, imperavit ut femina misera (hoc enim verbo Claudium usum esse ferunt) ad causam dicendam postridie adesset.

For when Claudius, having returned home, was heated with the meal and wine, he ordered that the wretched woman (for they say that this is the word Claudius used) should be present the next day to plead her case.

quod ubi Narcissus audivit et languescere iram redire amorem vidit, timebat, si moraretur, propinquam noctem et uxorii cubiculi memoriam;

When Narcissus head this and saw that Claudius’s anger was abating and that his love was returning, he began to fear the approaching night, if he delayed, and the memory of his wife’s bedroom;

igitur prorumpit denuntiatque centurionibus et tribuno, qui aderat, exxsequi caedem; ita imperatorem iubere.

therefore, he burst forth and ordered the centurions and a tribune, who was present, to carry out the slaughter: he said that this is what the emperor was ordering.

missus quoque unus e libertis: is raptim in hortos praegressus repperit Messalinam humi fusam;

One of the freedmen was also sent, he, having gone swiftly to the gardens before the rest, found Messalina prostrate on the ground.

‘nam claudius domum regressus’ line 70

‘for when Claudius, having returned home’ this line contrasts with Messalina’s inability to go back home

‘Claudius…Claudium’ line 70/1

the repetition of his name suggests that he’s taking control again

‘femina misera’ line 71

‘wretched woman’ the alliteration of ‘m’ and ‘n’ creates a repetition of sad sounds which emphasises how wretched M was

‘ferunt’ line 72

‘they say’ the choice of the pronoun ‘they’ creates a gossip-y feel to the situation - multiple sources

‘adesset’ line 72

‘should be present’ - Messalina should be present in person, which is what Narcissus is worried about

‘Narcissus’ line 73

from this point, Narcissus is the subject for five lines - turning point - shows how Narcissus is back in control again

‘languescere iram redire amorem vidit’ line 73/4

‘saw that claudius’s anger was abating and that his love was returning’ - the inf+acc, inf+acc repetition creates asyndetion and emphasises the logical progression of events

‘timebat’ line 74

‘began to fear’ - this is an example of economical phrasing where the same verb is used for two different objects - speed of fear approaching?

‘si moraretur’ line 74

‘if he delayed’ this phrase has a subjunctive mood which suggests the different outcomes/possibilites

the entire phrase also shows N’s thought process

‘propinquam noctem et uxorii cubiculi memoriam’ line 74/5

‘the approaching night,…, and the memory of his wife’s bedroom.’ the alliteration of ‘m’ and ‘n’ creates a threatening sound, suggesting N’s fear/the threat faced by him

the use of euphemism also shows how N does not want to think of the danger to himself

‘prorumpit denuntiatque centurionibus et tribuno’ line 75

‘bust forth and ordered’ the centurions and a tribune’ the prefixes ‘pro’ and ‘de’ strengthen on the verbs, and the variato and polysyndeton of ‘and’ emphasises how much action Narcissus takes

‘qui aderat’ line 76

‘who was present’ - polyptoton of adesset in line 72 - vivid individual presence

‘ita imperatorem iubere’ line 77

‘he said that this is what the emperor was ordering’

1. the assonace of ‘i’ links the order to the emperor

2. there is polyptoton with ‘imperavit’ line 71 which emphasises the orders being given

3. the omission of ‘dixit’ creates a faster, more exciting pace and also obscures N as the origin of the orders

‘missus quoque unus e libertis’ line 77

‘One of the freedmen was also sent’

1. missus is a variation of ‘imperatorem/imperavit’ which creates more emphasis on them?

2. missus has also been promoted to the start to emphasise the action and ‘est’ has been omitted which makes the phrase briefer and more exciting

‘is raptim in hortos praegressus repperit Messalinam humi fusam.’ line 78/9

‘he, having gone swiftly to the gardens before the rest, found Messalina prostrate on the ground’

1. raptim, pragressus, and repperit are all actiony words - swfitly, go before, find, - which create excitement and suspense

   1. the alliteration of plosive ‘p’ in these words creates a hostile environment

2. Messalinam being postponed to the end of the sentence also creates excitement/suspense

‘fusam’ line 79

‘lying prostrate’ this word at the end of the phrase emphasises M’s hopelessness.