LATIN OCR GCSE LITERATURE (verse) 18th June

It depends on the section you're analysing of course, but a few things to look out for are:

- Alliteration
- Word promotion/delay - e.g. verbs in Latin usually go at the end of the sentence, but often Virgil will move them to a more prominent position for emphasis; equally if a verb is delayed it can give it extra impact
- Anaphora (emphatic repetition)
- Sibilance (lots of 's' sounds) - can create hissing effects, sounds harsh to the ear
- Length of sentences - are they short or long? Short ones convey action and add speed; long ones are generally used in description
- Vivid presents - this is when Virgil puts verbs into the present tense but they are translated as being in the past tense. This makes them much more vivid as it feels like the action is unfolding right now. Also look out for present active participles (e.g. 'vomens' - "spewing forth", which are also vivid because they are in the present tense
- Enjambment - can emphasise a word if it runs over onto the next line
- Vocabulary choice - particularly strong or forceful language which helps to build a vivid picture; especially in similes (e.g. the lion simile of Nisus, the Plough and Poppy simile of Euryalus)

Make sure you're not just 'feature-spotting' - explain fully the effect of the literary device you have identified and also make it clear that you know what the Latin means.

These are the kinds of tips my Latin teacher has given me - I have my exam today too! Good luck (:

Thank you so much! This has really helped me understand the text more. Good luck to you too!

No problem, hope it went okay for you! (don't think I did very well in the 8-marker at the end as I thought it was quite a difficult question!)

Overall, I think I did well. I'm so glad I did really well on my language papers because literature is my weak point.
Did you have to write any quotations for the 8 marker and did you have to translate the quotations?

Yeah, I think I'm strongest in language too! No, for 8-markers you're not expected to refer to the Latin at all. I did quote once or twice from the English translation I'd memorised, but you're not expected to do that either. I think what they're looking for is just that you have a good grasp of the text and the different characters (: