In message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, David Wilson-Okamura <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes ><< message forwarded by listowner, David Wilson-Okamura >> > >From: "Tim Saunders" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Date: Fri, 09 Nov 2001 21:48:29 +0000 > This came in when I was about to leave the country; I hoped when I came back to find a discussion in full swing. As it is, I had better try to get one going myself.
>I have been re-reading Aeneid 8.306-341 and was struck by the 6 >instances of 5-word hexameters contained within this passage alone. >Seeing that I could not entirely pin down quite why these instances >seemed significant to me, I wondered whether anyone on the list had any >thoughts on the significance (or otherwise) of the number of words that >appear in any one line of Virgil? > >I THINK my attention to the 5-word hexameters in this passage was >probably spurred by a dim recollection of Eclogue 2.24: > >AMPHION DIRCAEUS IN ACTAEO ARACYNTHO > >Clausen declares this to be "a verse of the most precious Alexandrian >sort." By this is he pointing solely to the learned allusions and the >distintive rhythm of "Actaeo Aracyntho" - or do the number of words in >the line have any part to play in this assessment? The line would go straight back into Greek with nothing but the odd vowel changed; in fact five-words hexameters are harder to find in Greek because of the greater number of small particles and pronouns. But this raises the question of whether they should be called words, to which I shall return below; we print Latin _-que_ together with what precedes and its Greek counterpart _te_ separately, but what right does that give is to say the former is not a word and the latter is? > >There is another notable line in the Eclogues (5.73): > >SALTANTIS SATYROS IMITABITUR ALPHESIBOEUS. Here of course the effect is of cheerful galumphsome rustic dancing. > >Clausen remarks on this line that 4 word hexameters are rare in Virgil (he >cites 7 other examples). So I suppose the more general question becomes: >when does the number of words in a line become significant? > > >Anyway, back to 5-word hexameters and the particular passage I had in mind, >Aeneid 8.306-341. I can see that a line with 5 words in it can attain a >certain symmetry (esp. in a "Golden Line"). As for instance in: > >8.334: FORTUNA OMNIPOTENS ET INELUCTABILE FATUM > >and (esp if we read the variant "Romano" rather than "Romani") > >8.338: ET CARMENTALEM ROMANO NOMINE PORTAM > >and 8.341: AENEADAS MAGNOS ET NOBILE PALLANTEUM > >But is there any greater significance than the patterning of words here? >And how about the other examples that do not display so obvious an ordering: > >8.309: INGREDIENS UARIOQUE UIAM SERMONE LEUABAT. > >8.312: EXQUIRITQUE AUDITQUE UIRUM MONIMENTA PRIORUM. > >8.322: COMPOSUIT LEGESQUE DEDIT, LATIUMQUE UOCARI. When the line is syntactically self-contained (as in the first three), the effect is surely one of solemnity, appropriate to the pre-foundation (as one might call it) of Rome; I am not so sure about the last three, all of which are enjambed. However, if we are to talk about these matters, we had better agree on what a word is. If a group of syllables under a single stress, then prepositions and conjunctions do not count as words (and indeed may until modern times be found written together with what follows); if that which is contained between two spaces or other word-dividers, then in ancient usage enclitic -que- may be a word. > > >I have to admit that my access to the usual reference books is rather >limited at the moment, so I must apologise if some of these questions could >readily be answered elsewhere. However, if this query sets off a more >general discussion about Virgil's use of metre then it would have been worth >it for that alone. > >Many thanks > >Tim Saunders >----------------------------------------------------------------------- >To leave the Mantovano mailing list at any time, do NOT hit reply. >Instead, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message >"unsubscribe mantovano" in the body (omitting the quotation marks). You >can also unsubscribe at http://virgil.org/mantovano/mantovano.htm#unsub *_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_* Leofranc Holford-Strevens 67 St Bernard's Road usque adeone Oxford scire MEVM nihil est, nisi ME scire hoc sciat alter? OX2 6EJ tel. +44 (0)1865 552808(home)/267865(work) fax +44 (0)1865 512237 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (home) [EMAIL PROTECTED] (work) *_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_* ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To leave the Mantovano mailing list at any time, do NOT hit reply. Instead, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message "unsubscribe mantovano" in the body (omitting the quotation marks). You can also unsubscribe at http://virgil.org/mantovano/mantovano.htm#unsub
