(W.I.P.) Baucis and Philemon COMPLETE ANNOTATIONS

All the annotations for Baucis and Philemon, for my Latin Literature GCSE

(1-11) Iuppiter huc specie…

“here” - makes scene more vivid, as though we are in the marsh too

(1-11) venit Atlantiades positis caducifer alis

use of doctrina (showing off knowledge to make text more serious), wings and wand juxtaposed to strengthen the identification of Mercury, enclosing word order shows the wings were around him

(1-11) mille domos adiere… mille domos clausere

anaphora/epanalepsis emphasises number of houses visited (hyperbolic?), homeoteleuton of ‘ere’ links words together emphasising the treatment they received, dactylic line with rapid rhythm shows how tiring their journey was

(1-11) …tamen una recepit,

delayed caesura emphasises the closed doors

(1-11) parva quidem stipulis et canna tecta palustri

plosive alliteration emphasises the adjectives to create a more vivid description, each emphasising a different aspect of the story; enclosing word order used (roof ‘enclosed’ by marshy reeds)

(1-11) illa sunt annis iuncti iuvenablibus, illa consenuere casa

anaphora of demonstrative pronoun, shows importance of cottage to them and the story; soft ‘iu’ sound alliteration, reflects tender childhood nostalgia; word order emphasises their close relationship and shows importance of the cottage to the story

(1-11) fatendo… fatendo

homeoteleuton shows the two elements of their way of dealing with poverty are linked, use of gerunds stresses their actions

(1-11) levem nec iniqua mente ferendo nec refert

metaphor ‘levem’ - lit. means light, poverty light on their shoulders; litotes shows measured opinion, not ‘happy’ to be poor; epanalepsis of ‘nec’ shows negativity around poverty, what we expect to be important is not.

(1-11) dominos illic famulosne requires

homeoteleuton emphasises their togetherness in each case; dative pronoun, pointing at the place as though we are there (vivid)

(1-11) domus duo sunt, idem parentque iubentque

dental alliteration links words, they ARE the house; more homeoteleuton showing togetherness

(12-25) ubi caelicolae parvos tetigere penates

grand compound adjective juxtaposed with small house; word for ‘household gods’ used for house to create contrast with caelicolae, also reminds us B&P are very pious, emphasised by plosive alliteration

(12-25) summissoque humiles intrarunt vertice postes

balanced arrangement (ABAB) of nouns and verbs; spondaic line shows grandeur and size of the gods

(12-25) posito iussit relevare sedili

enclosing word order, they are ‘enclosed’ by the couch as they sit on it

(12-25) textum rude sedula Baucis

chiasmus (ABBA) - draws attention to Baucis and the cloth and their characteristics, stressing the effort of ‘busy’ Baucis even though she hasn’t much to work with

(12-25) foco tepidum cinerem dimovit

m/n alliteration, sad sounds, emphasises sympathy for Baucis working hard with her old age

(12-25) suscitat hesternos foliisque et cortice sicco

siblance creates hissing/rattling sound of fire (or Baucis’ breath?); also variartio in words used for fire (sicco, ignes, flammas, arida)

(12-25) suscitat… nutrit… detulit… truncat

verbs enjambed as 1st word, emphasises Baucis’ activity and creates suspense and sense of motion from one line to the next, linking the lines together

(12-25) ad flammas anima producit anili

assonance of ‘a’ sound emphasises Baucis’ feeble breath

(12-25) multifidasque faces ramaliaque arida tecto

detail of firewood, gathered from different sources showing they are making the most of what they have, self sufficiency was a virtue in Roman society emphasising how virtuous they are

(12-25) “minuit parvoque”

juxtaposition of words meaning decreased and small emphasises the small scale that Baucis is working on, further shows resourcefulness and work ethic

(12-25) quodque suus coniunx riguo collegerat horto truncat holus foliis; furca levat…

‘suus’ unneccessary, emphasises their closeness; Philemon shown to play his part as well, domestic harmony, enclosing word order ‘encloses’ his part within Baucis, showing teamwork but also how Baucis takes the lead

(12-25) sordida terga suis nigro

emphatic position of these words at the start of each half of the line stresses the smoky darkness of the cottage - pigs back and beams both dark; sibilance emphasises that they pig meat is dirty

(12-25) diu resecat de tergore partem

shows poverty, food made to last a long time, living sustainably; polyptoton of ‘terga/tergore’ creates a vivid mental image

(12-25) exiguam sectamque domat ferventibus undis.

emphatic position & enjambment (prior line) show how thin the slices were - shows poverty; poetic word ‘domat’ meaning tamer used, creates a more grand image; hyperbole of ‘waves’ of water with use of undis

(26-35) medias fallunt sermonibus horas

enclosing word order and internal rhyme/homeoteleuton emphasise the time passing, reflected in the use of hyperbole

(26-35) fallunt… prohibent… accipit

negative words used for kind actions makes scene more vivid and interesting - Ovid is implying an intention that isn’t there, choice of verbs imply a sense of deception, which could refer to trying to hide poverty out of embarrassment?

(26-35) illic fagineus

enjambment emphasises fact that the tub is made of beech (not metal), rustic wooden tub reflects poverty

(26-35) is tepidis impleture aquis artusque fovendos accipit

chiasmus (ABBA) juxtaposes water and limbs to mimic the limbs being inserted into the water; also note that the water bucket is personified, it does not ‘receive’ anything actually

(26-35) salignis… saligno

polyptoton shows rustic nature of the house, furniture of timber, and as willow is bendy we can imagine the couch would sag under the weight of the gods

(26-35) vestibus… sed et haec vilisque vetusque vestis erat

first vestibus is in an emphatic position, as 3 lines of description follow; polyptoton with ‘vestis’ and alliteration of ‘v’ links cheap/ancient to the coverlet, stressing the unpleasantness; harsh alliteration/repetition/polyptoton of ‘que’ also emphasises this

(26-35) lecto non indignanda saligno.

litotes, snide comment by Ovid, positive phrase used in a negative context, ‘unworthy’ of gods, shows his intent - seemingly more positive comment following prior negative but yet is still negative (ironic)

(26-35) accubuere dei

emphatic short sentence in reversed word order, emphasises the role of the gods