AP Latin: Vergil
St. Mary’s Academy
AP Latin: Vergil – Syllabus
2011-2012 Academic Year
Mr. Reinbold
Iupiter omnipotens, audacibus annue coeptis…!
Vergil Aeneid 9.625
Introduction:
This course will explore the writings of Publius Vergilius Maro (70 BCE-19 BCE), the greatest poet of
ancient Rome, arguably the greatest poet of all time. The influence of Vergil (sometimes seen as Virgil)
was profound and ubiquitous not only in antiquity, but also in every generation that has shared in the
classical heritage of Greece and Rome since his time. His first two major poems, the Eclogues and the
Georgics, would have sufficed to cement his reputation as a master craftsman and an expert interpreter
of the Greek poetic tradition, but it is his magnum opus, the Aeneid, that gives Vergil his stature as one of
the giants of Western Literature. While this course will concentrate on the Aeneid, students will also read
excerpts from the other works of Vergil and by other Latin authors.
Course Objectives:
This course requires extensive work outside the classroom in addition to intensive work inside the
classroom. Students should be prepared to read, on average, 25-30 lines of original Latin poetry before
every class session, including a daily review of grammar and vocabulary in the assigned passages. All
students will read the entirety of Vergil’s Aeneid in translation as well as selected other works of Greek
and Roman literature. While this class is rigorous and challenging, the opportunity to explore the works of
the great authors of antiquity in their original language is a most rewarding experience.
Course Materials:
The following items are to be brought to every class:
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Writing tools
Three-ring binder with lined paper divided into the following sections –
 Roman Culture
 Translations
 Grammar
 Vocabulary
 Course Log
 The following written materials –
 Aeneid, Publius Vergilius Maro, translated by Frederick Ahl
 Vergil’s Aeneid: Books I-IV, Clyde Pharr
 A Vergil Workbook, Katherine Bradley and Barbara Weiden Boyd
 Cassell’s Latin & English Dictionary
Grading Policies:
Grades are based on the following distribution:
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Daily participation
Written/Oral Activities in class
Memorized Passages/Written Assignments/Check-ups
Oral/Dictated/Written Quizzes
5%
15%
20%
30%
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Comprehensive Exams
30%
If a student misses a class due to an excused absence, the student must do the following:
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Hand in all homework due on the day of the absence before the next class.
Make up any missing classwork within two days.
Be prepared to take any quiz or test given on the day of the absence during the next
class.
If a review period is missed before a test, schedule academic support and a time to take
the test as soon as possible.
Any work missed due an unexcused absence or tardiness receives 0%.
Course Procedures:
The following procedures will be standard for each class:
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Students are to arrive at every class on time, having all necessary materials and
having prepared the assignment thoroughly. Before each class, all students will have –
 Read the assigned passages as many times as necessary to be able to translate
the reading at sight from the textbook, without the aid of notes or translation
 Answered the assigned questions from the workbook to be submitted as
homework
 Written down any questions about difficult or confusing passages
Every class will begin with a check-up. Check-ups will have two sections:
 Key vocabulary words from the readings
 Either translation and scansion questions, critical interpretation short responses,
or questions on stylistic and metrical techniques
As a class, students will translate some or all of the assigned readings without the aid of
notes or translations. Students should be prepared to share any questions about difficult
or confusing passages and to contribute answers to questions other students may have.
Great emphasis in this course is placed on the ability and practice of literal translation
of the lines of the Aeneid. Students will be required on numerous occasions in each
quarter of study to demonstrate their ability and willingness to translate given pieces of
the text in as open and literal a manner as possible.
New grammar, rhetorical or poetic figures, historical or cultural information will be
presented by the teacher. Students will be given sample passages to practice identifying
and analyzing newly introduced concepts.
Passages either from future readings or from other Latin authors will be handed out to be
used for practice in sight translation and scansion.
Each class will culminate with a reflection on the day’s lesson and will be written into the
course log in each student’s binder. Course logs will be graded for thoroughness, clarity,
and neatness.
Once per grading period, students will recite from memory a passage from the Aeneid
of no less than ten lines, in the original Latin and in proper meter. The recitation will
count as a formal assessment and will be graded for clarity, enunciation, accuracy of
meter, and expression of emotion.
There will be three tests per quarter for the first three quarters of the school year. In the
fourth quarter there will be two tests prior to the AP Exam. The tests will include the
following:
 Translations of passages reviewed in class
 Literal translations of new passages
 Scansion of reviewed passages and new passages
 Written analysis and interpretation of an individual passage, explicating its
relationship to the following:
o The historical, political, and social context of the author
o The cultural and literary tradition of the passage
o
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The themes and topics of the author’s body of work
The effect of poetic and rhetorical figures on the meaning of the passage
Schedule of Readings, Tests, and Assessments:
Week
Assignment
1
Dactylic Hexameter and Scansion
introduction to Aeneid; Book I. 1-11
Quiz
2
Book I. 12-80
Exam
3
Book I. 81-156
Quiz
4
Book I. 157-222
Exam
5
Book I. 223-288
Quiz (Progress Reports)
6
Book I. 289-324
Exam
7
Book I. 325-410
Quiz
8
Book I. 411-493
Exam
9
Book I. 494-519
Book I. 520-756 in English
Quiz (End of Quarter)
10
Book II. 1-56; read 57-198 in English;
Book II. 199-219
Exam
11
Book II. 220-297
Quiz
12
Read 298-468 in English; Book II. 469-566
Exam
13
14
Read 567-734 in English; Book II. 735-804
Quiz
Read Book III in English; Book IV. 1-104
Exam (Progress Reports)
WINTER BREAK
15
Book IV. 105-179
Quiz
16
Book IV. 180-237
Exam
FINAL EXAMS – END OF SEMESTER
17
Book IV. 238-330
Quiz
18
Book IV. 331-449
Exam
19
Read Book IV. 450-641 in English;
Book IV. 642-705
Quiz
20
Read Book V in English; Book VI. 1-76
Exam
21
Book VI. 77-139
Exam (Progress Reports)
22
Book VI. 140-211; Book VI. 212-449 in English
Quiz
23
Book VI. 450-476; read Book VI. 477-846 in English; Book VI. 847-901
Exam
24
Read Books VII, VIII, IX in English
Quiz
25
Read Book X. 1-419 in English
Exam (End of Quarter)
26
Book X. 420-509
Quiz
27
Read Book XI. in English; read Book XII. 1-790
in English
Exam
28
Book XII. 791-842; 843-886 in English
Quiz
29
Book XII. 887-952
30
Review for AP Exam
ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAM
THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2012
Additional Texts and Reference Materials:
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Boyd, Barbara, ed., Vergil’s Aeneid: Selections from Books 1, 2, 4, 6, 10, and 12. 2nd
edition. Wauconda, Ill.: Bolchazy-Carducci, 2004.
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Mandlebaum, Allen, tr., The Aeneid of Virgil: A Verse Translation. New York:
Bantam Books, 1981.
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Anderson, William S., The Art of the Aeneid. Wauconda, Ill.: Bolchazy-Carducci,
1989.
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Anderson, William S. and Lorina N. Quartarone., Approaches to Teaching Vergil’s
Aeneid. “Approaches to Teaching World Literature” series. New York: The Modern
Language Association of America, 2002.
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Commager, Steele, ed., Vergil: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs,
N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1966.
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Daitz, Stephen, The Pronunciation and Reading of Classical Latin: A Practical
Guide. Guilford, CT: J. Norton, 1984.
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Frenkel, Emily, Aeneas: Virgil’s Epic Retold for Young Readers. Newburyport,
Mass.: Focus, 2003.
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Harrison, S. J., ed., Oxford Readings in Vergil’s Aeneid. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1990.
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Johnson, W. R., Darkness Visible: A Study of Vergil’s Aeneid. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1976.
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Quinn, Stephanie and Michael C. J. Putnam, eds., Why Vergil? A Collection of
Interpretations. Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy–Carducci, 2000.
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Williams, R. D., Virgil: Aeneid I-VI. Newburyport, Mass.: Focus, 2004.
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Williams, R. D., Virgil: Aeneid VII-XII. Newburyport, Mass.: Focus, 1997. Quarterly
Schedule
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