AP Latin — Advanced Analysis & Stylistic Figures

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Dactylic Hexameter: The Spondaic Line

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A line of dactylic hexameter that is predominantly spondaic (slow and heavy) rather than dactylic (swift). Vergil uses this to mimic the labor of soldiers (Aeneid 2.726-729 'haec finis Priami'...) or the weight of Aeneas carrying his father. It forces the reader to slow down, matching the narrative action.

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Elision in the *Aeneid*

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The omission of a final vowel, diphthong, or syllable 'm' when a word begins with a vowel or 'h'. Harder to detect, it often creates a specific sound flow or urgency. Analyzing elision is crucial for understanding how Vergil manipulates the rhythm of the verse to reflect the mood of the scene.

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Chiasmus (*A*B B*A*)

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A rhetorical device in which the second half of a phrase or sentence reverses the structure of the first, creating an ABBA pattern. Example: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”

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Tricolon crescens

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: A series of three parallel words or phrases that increase in length or impact. In Vergil and Pliny, this creates a climactic effect, building emotional intensity or rhetorical force, often used in battle scenes or oratorical climax.

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Apostrophe

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A figure of speech where the speaker addresses an absent person, an abstract idea, or an inanimate object as if it were present and alive. In the *Aeneid*, it often indicates a moment of high emotion or dramatic intensity (e.g., Aeneas addressing the walls of Troy or the ghost of Hector).