Latin OCR GCSE Messalina Prose lines 39-49

qui ‘discidiumne tuum’ inquit ‘novisti?’ nam matrimonium Silii vidit populus et senatus et milites: ac nisi celeriter agis, tenet urben maritus.

He said ‘Do you know about your divorce? For the people, the senate and the soldiers have seen Silius’s marriage; and unless you act quickly, the husband controls the city.’

Non solum rumor interea, sed undique nuntii ad Messalinam contendunt, qui Claudium omnia cognovisse et venire promptum ultioni adferrent.

In the meantime, there was not only rumour, but from all sides messengers were hastening to Messalina, to report the Claudius knew everything and was coming eager for revenge.

Igitur Messalina Lucullianos in hortos, Silius dissimulando metui ad forum digrediuntur.

Therefore, Messalina and Silius departed in different directions, she to the Gardens of Lucullus, he to the forum to hide his fear.

Illa tamen, quamquam res adversae consilium eximerent, ire obviam et aspici a marito statim constituit,

She, however, although the unfavourable circumstances were taking away (time for) deliberation, immediately decided to meet and be seen by her husband,

quod saepe ei fuerat subsidium; misitque ut Britannicus et Octavia in complexum patris irent.

which had often been a help to her; and she sent instructions that Britannicus and Octavia should go to embrace their father.

‘discidiumne tuum’ Line 39

‘your divorce’ - divorce is exaggerated as it would have to have Claudius’s consent to be an official divorce, which it doesn’t; ‘tuum’ is a possessive adjective, which emphasises the impact of the divorce on Claudius

‘novisti?’ Line 39

‘Do you know about…?’ - this is a question, so therefore requires a response, which makes the scene more dramatic

‘Silii’ line 40

‘Silius’ - the mention of Silius rather than Messalina would make Claudius angrier as it shows Silius’s position as his rival

‘populus et senatus et milites’ line 40

‘the people, the senate, and the soldiers’ - this is an example of polysyndeton which emphasises both how many people know about the marriage and Claudius’s ignorance

the tricolon emphasises the widespread knowledge

‘milites’ line 40 context

the ‘milites’ were the praetorian guard; the only soldiers in Rome/Italy allowed to carry arms (emperor’s bodyguard) - if he loses their loyalty it could be disastrous

‘nise celeriter agis’ line 40

‘unless you act quickly’ - the phrase puts pressure on claudius

‘tenet urbem maritus’ line 41

‘the husband holds the city’ - the inverted word order (verb/any/subject) emphasises how the husband is Silius not Claudius, the present tense verb ‘tenet’ implies the control is already happening which would further anger Claudius

change of scene, lines 41-2

the change of scene before Claudius’s response creates tension and suspense

‘non solum’ line 42

‘not only’ - the phrasing emphasises how many different messages were reaching Messalina

‘contendunt’ line 43

‘hastening’ - this is a historic present tense which makes the situation seem more immediate and dramatic

‘qui Claudius’ line 43

‘that Claudius’ - Claudius as the first word of the phrase emphasises Messalina’s anxiety about his reaction

‘omnia’ line 43

‘all’ - potential exaggeration as Claudius only found out recently

‘promptum ultioni’ line 44

‘eager for revenge’ - the prospect of a bad outcome for Messalina - helps us imagine her anxiety/suspense

‘Messalina Lucullianos in hortos, Silius… ad forum.’ line 44/5

‘Messalina and silius…. she to the gardens of Lucullus, he to the forum…’ - the balanced placement of the names shows the different directions that they go in

‘dissimulando metui’ line 45

‘to hide his fear’ - suggests Silius is untrustworthy/cowardly

‘digrediuntur’ line 45

‘departed in different directions’ - the prefix ‘di’ meaning in different directions emphasises this and how it is unusual since they were close lovers

‘quamquam res adversae’ line 46

‘although the unfavourable circumstances.’ - opposed words emphasise things going badly for Messalina, and they are juxtaposed with the pronoun for her name

‘consilium eximerent.’ line 46

‘taking away time for deliberation.’ - suggests Messalina may be slightly admirable and bold, as she makes decisions under pressure

‘ire obviam et aspici’ line 47

‘to meet and be seen’ - pleonasm - more words than necessary - this emphasises the physical meeting (physical attraction)

‘marito’ line 47

‘husband’ - emphasises her dual marriage, as in this case it refers to Claudius but in line 41 it referred to Silius

‘quod saepe ei fuerat subsidium’ line 47/8

‘which had often been a help to her.’ - suggests this has happened before, suggests Claudius is a bit weak and gullible/susceptible to ‘trickery’

‘misitque’ line 48

‘she sent instructions’ - strange that neither he or Claudius are with their children - suggests children do not have a close relationship with their dad

‘Britannicus et Octavia.’ line 48

'if you need this translated don’t take the exam’

she hopes that the use of her children will make Claudius sympathetic to her - doesn’t want children to be motherless - cunning