Exemplar for Internal Assessment Resource Latin Level 2 Resource title: Sub Verbis Ipsis This exemplar supports assessment against: Achievement Standard 91196 Interpret studied Latin literary text(s) Student and grade boundary specific exemplar The material has been gathered from student material specific to an A or B assessment resource. Date version published by Ministry of Education December 2011 To support internal assessment from 2012
Grade Boundary: Low Excellence 1. To achieve at Excellence the student is required to interpret thoroughly, studied Latin literary texts. These extracts are at Low Excellence because the student has used linguistic and cultural knowledge (EN2) to establish the meaning or significance and to extract and discuss information and ideas contained in the text and has expanded fully on most of them. Latin evidence is appropriate and unambiguous. Ovid Line 745 nunc, nunc, properate, puellae ( now, now, hurry girls! ). Example of full expansion of a point: This is an example of alliteration, the repetition of initial letters of consecutive or nearby words. Lucretia is telling her maids (with whom she is weaving a cloak to send to her husband) to hurry about their work. The alliteration of n s and especially the sound of the repeated plosive p s give Lucretia s order to her maids a sense of urgency and importance. This emphasises Lucretia s desire for the cloak to be finished as soon as possible so that it may be sent to her husband for his comfort Ovid shows us with this device that Lucretia is a loyal and virtuous wife, as she is concerned about the comfort of her husband Collatinus. The student comments on the effectiveness of the alliteration in conveying urgency and links this urgency to one of the themes, Lucretia s loyalty and concern for her husband. Ovid Line 800: ut quondam stabulis deprensa relictis parva sub infesto cum iacet agna lupo. ( just like when a little lamb once strayed from the stable is caught and lies beneath a hostile wolf). This is an epic simile, an extended comparison between two things, usually with several points of similarity. Lucretia is like the lamb in that she is trembling, that she is lying caught beneath an enemy looming over her, and that she is small and helpless. The simile adds vividness and richness to Ovid s description, enabling the reader to visualise better Lucretia s fear (as of a lamb presumably about to be killed and eaten by a wolf) and the commanding position of Tarquinius in respect to her. With this simile Ovid again casts Lucretia very much in the role of an innocent and helpless person (traits often associated with a lamb) and Tarquinius in the position of a cruel and evil person (traits often associated with a wolf). Points of similarity in the epic simile are expanded on to show exactly how Lucretia is like a lamb caught by a wolf and also to link back to the themes of her innocence and Tarquinius cruelty. Ovid Line 793-796: surgit et venit in thalamos, nupta pudica, tuos, utque torum pressit, ferrum, Lucretia, mecum est! (He arises and comes into your bedroom, you chaste bride, and as he presses your bed, he says: I have my sword with me, Lucretia!
This is an example of apostrophe, where the author addresses someone who is not actually present, in this case Lucretia, whom Ovid addresses as nupta pudica (you chaste bride). By addressing her in this complimentary way, Ovid clearly shows that his sympathy lies with her as opposed to Tarquinius and encourages feelings of sympathy for her in the reader. The student has identified the apostrophe and commented on its effectiveness but could expand more fully. To reach a more secure Excellence the student could link the example of apostrophe nupta pudica to the themes of Lucretia s innocence and loyalty to her husband.
Grade Boundary: High Merit 2. To achieve at Merit the student is required to interpret clearly, studied Latin literary texts. These extracts are at High Merit because the student has used linguistic and cultural knowledge (EN2) to establish the meaning or significance and to extract and discuss information and ideas contained in the text and has expanded on them unambiguously in English. Pathos: illa diu reticet pudibunda celat amictu ora: fluunt lacrimae more perennis aquae Line 819/820 Example of expansion of a point: Ovid s goal here is to evoke pity in the audience; to make them share in the sadness of her, her father and her husband. The stream imagery provides a picture of an absolutely distraught woman: she is so broken up by her rape that she doesn t even sob, the tears just flow and flow. Ovid could also be subtly hinting at what is to come, in reference to the River Styx, as she is about to kill herself. Poem 3, line 16. Line 18: O miselle passer! (O poor little sparrow!) meae puellae flendo turgiduli rubent ocelli ( My girl s poor swollen little eyes are red with weeping). miselle and ocelli turgiduli are both examples of the diminutive, a form of noun usually used to express smallness of size or affection and evoke sympathy both for the sparrow and Lesbia herself. ocelli turgiduli is unusual in that both the adjective turgiduli and the noun ocelli are in the diminutive. This heavy use of the diminutive seems like deliberate exaggeration, which contributes heavily to the mock effect of the poem. The student expands on the use of diminutives miselle, ocelli turgiduli (Catullus, 3 Lines 16, 18) and their effectiveness in expressing both affection and sympathy for Lesbia and her sparrow. In the example of pathos the student expands on Lucretia s continuous weeping and perceptively links the stream imagery with the River Styx and her impending death. To reach Excellence the student could identify the simile fluunt lacrimae more perennis aquae within the example of pathos and comment that in Italy many streams dry up in the summer, thus making Ovid s choice of perennis even more effective. The fact that miselle can also mean wretched in the sense of contemptible could be recognised and an explanation of the mock effect of the poem added.
Grade Boundary: Low Merit 3. These extracts are at Low Merit because the student has used linguistic and cultural knowledge to establish the meaning or significance and to extract and discuss information and ideas contained in the text and has expanded on them unambiguously in English. Simile Ovid uses a simile in line S799-800 sed tremit, ut quondam stabulis deprensa relictis parva sub infesto cum iacet agna lupo. Ovid compares Lucretia to a little lamb, to show not only her weakness and fear, but also her innocence. It shows the fear she felt towards Sextus, the hostile wolf. Ovid uses the wolf comparison to show the aggressiveness of Sextus when attacking Lucretia. Anaphora Ovid uses anaphora in line 806 nec prece nec pretio, nec movet ille minis [but he moves her] neither with prayer nor bribery nor threats The listing of all the ways in which Sextus tried, but failed, to seduce Lucretia helps highlight Lucretia s strength and the faith she keeps in both herself and her husband. The student has expanded on the effect of the simile Lines 799-800, showing the link with the theme of Lucretia s innocence and with the characterisation of Tarquinius and has recognised the effect of the anaphora line 806, making a link with Lucretia s loyalty. To reach a more secure Merit the student could expand on the placement of the words agna and lupo and state clearly what the words that constitute the anaphora are.
Grade Boundary: High Achieved 4. To achieve the student is required to interpret studied Latin literary texts. These extracts are at High Achieved because the student has used linguistic and cultural knowledge (EN2) to establish the meaning or significance and to extract and discuss information and ideas contained in the text. Rhetorical Question quid faciat? pugnet? vincetur femina pugnans. clamet? at in dextra, qui vetet, ensis erat. effugiat? positis urgentur pectora palmis Ovid, Fasti 2, line 799-801 What should she do? Fight? In battle a woman loses. Cry out? But the sword which was in his right hand restrained her. Flee? The palms of his hands pressed down hard on her breast The effect of a rhetorical question is that the reader or the listener starts to think about what Lucretia is thinking in her panic. She cannot think constructively and there is no way out of her predicament Information extracted and briefly discussed. Repetition nulli se dicit mulier mea nubere malle quam mihi, non si Iuppiter ipse petat. dicit: sed mulier cupido quod dicit amanti, in vento et rapida scribere oportet aqua Catullus, Poem 70, lines 3-4 My woman says she prefers to marry no-one else than me, not even if Jupiter himself were to ask her. That s what she says: but what a woman says to her passionate lover must be written in the wind and fast flowing water. The word dicit is repeated three times within the poem to emphasise what Lesbia says. They have obviously discussed marriage and maybe at this time she is free to marry and Catullus is favoured. However, Catullus has little faith in what she says as it is worth nothing and her words will change according to her whim. The student has identified the effect of the rhetorical question and shown how it helps to characterise Lucretia at this point. She cannot think constructively and there is no way out of her predicament. To reach Merit the student could comment on the fact that there are several rhetorical questions which are effective in showing Lucretia s desperation. In the example of repetition the student could comment on the emphatic effect of the placement of the second dicit.
Grade Boundary: Low Achieved 5. These extracts are at Low Achieved because the student has used linguistic and cultural knowledge (EN2) to establish the meaning and to extract and discuss information and ideas contained in the text. Diminutive nec somnus tegeret quiete ocellos Catullus, Poem 50, line 10 nor sleep cover my poor little eyes with rest The -ellos ending of ocellos turns the eyes into poor little eyes. Catullus uses the diminutive to make himself seem more pathetic. It is part of his self mocking tone. iamque est orta dies: passis sedet illa capillis, ut solet ad nati mater itura rogum Ovid, Fasti 2, line 813-814 and now the day has risen, she sits with her hair unbound, as a mother is accustomed about to go to the funeral pyre of her son sed tremit, ut quondam stabulis deprensa relictis parva sub infesto cum iacet agna lupo Ovid, Fasti 2, line 799-800 But she trembled like a little lamb when caught having strayed from the fold, and lies beneath a hostile wolf For the first example the simile Lucretia has let loose her hair, like a mother mourning for a dead son and for the second one the simile she trembles like a little lamb that is innocent and pure just like she herself is. The student has identified a diminutive and given a reason for its use, but has not given the context. In commenting on Ovid s use of similes the student identifies the comparison in the first simile (lines 813-814) but makes no attempt at interpretation. The student does interpret the second simile (799-800) at a basic level. To reach a more secure Achieved the student could explain the context in which the diminutive is set and describe the situation which causes Lucretia to tremble like a little lamb.
Grade Boundary: High Not Achieved 6. These extracts are at High Not Achieved because the student has attempted to use linguistic and cultural knowledge (EN2) to establish the meaning and to extract and discuss information and ideas contained in the text but has not considered their effectiveness. Metaphor: Catullus Poem 13, lines 7-8 nam tui Catulli plenus sacculus aranearum For Catullus purse is full of cobwebs Catullus knows how to paraphrase the fact that he has no money with an innocent metaphor. Alliteration: Ovid, Fasti,2.804 positis urgentur pectora palmis her breasts were pressed by his hands placed on them This device with its repeated strong consonant makes the reader notice this egregious behaviour in an abrupt way. Literary devices have been identified but their effectiveness has not been discussed e.g. Catullus knows how to paraphrase the fact that he has no money with an innocent metaphor. To reach Achieved the student should discuss the effectiveness of the literary devices. For example, the fact that the purse is full of cobwebs might indicate that it is a very long time since Catullus has had any money, since the spiders have had time to spin webs in his purse. The comment on alliteration should identify the letter used and explain how it causes the behaviour to be noted in an abrupt way.