AP Latin : Hyperbaton

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Latin

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Hyperbaton

vix etiam Phoebo iam lyra tuta sua est?
cum bene surrexit versu nova pagina primo,
attenuat nervos proximus ille meos;
nec mihi materia est numeris levioribus apta,
aut puer aut longas compta puella comas.'                  5
Questus eram, pharetra cum protinus ille soluta
legit in exitium spicula facta meum,
lunavitque genu sinuosum fortiter arcum,
'quod' que 'canas, vates, accipe' dixit 'opus!'
Me miserum! certas habuit puer ille sagittas.               10
uror, et in vacuo pectore regnat Amor.
Sex mihi surgat opus numeris, in quinque residat:
ferrea cum vestris bella valete modis!
cingere litorea flaventia tempora myrto,
Musa, per undenos emodulanda pedes!                      15

The pharetra cum in line 6 is an example of ___________________.

Possible Answers:

tmesis

metaphor

hyperbaton

litotes

Correct answer:

hyperbaton

Explanation:

The words pharetra cum present the reader with an inversion of the normal word order (usually, the preposition should appear before its object in Latin). This is called hyperbaton. "Litotes" is when a negative is used to express a strong positive, a "metaphor" is a comparison without the word like/as (ut), and "tmesis" is the separation of a compound word into two parts.

Passage adapted from Amores by Ovid, I. 16-30

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