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In this humorous poem, Martial, a successful poet in his own time, relates a request made of him by an admiring woman.
| Quod cupis in nostris dicique legique libellis |
| | et nonnullus honos creditur iste tibi, |
| ne valeam1 si non res est gratissima nobis |
| Line | | et volo te chartis inseruisse meis. |
| (5) | Sed tu nomen habes averso fonte2 sororum3 |
| | inpostum,4 mater quod tibi dura dedit; |
| quod nec Melpomene,5 quod nec Polyhymnia6 possit |
| | nec pia cum Phoebo7 dicere Calliope.8 |
| Ergo aliquod gratum Musis tibi nomen adopta; |
| | non semper belle dicitur "Hippodame." |
1 ne valeam: "may I perish"
2 averso fonte: "bad inspiration," "inappropriate source"
3 sororum: "of the sisters" or "of the Muses"
4 inpostum = impostum
5 Melpomene: one of the Muses
6 Polyhymnia: one of the Muses
7 Phoebus, -i, m.: Apollo
8 Calliope: one of the Muses
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Martial, Epigrams 4.31
The introduction reveals that the poem is humorous, explains who the author was, and although it informs students that a request is being made, it does not reveal the nature of the request, nor does it "give away" any of the questions about the poem.
This 10-line poem in the elegiac meter is complete.
The vocabulary and syntax are manageable.
Although the vocabulary is easy, words that assume a slightly different shade of meaning in context are glossed with the interpretive translation given in quotation marks.
The alternate spelling of inpostum is glossed.
Since proper names often confuse students, they are glossed.
There are enough relative and demonstrative pronouns and adjectives to create reference questions.
The repetition of nec provides the opportunity for a question on anaphora or polysyndeton.
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1. | In line 1, legi is translated
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| (A) | I gathered |
| (B) | by law |
| (C) | to be read |
| (D) | having been chosen |
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| Key : | C. |
| Type : | Translation. |
| Level : | Medium. |
| Rationale : | Although (A) is an
attractive choice to students who will attempt to
answer the question out of context, the link with dici
and the prominent placement of cupis, an easily
recognizable verb that may require a complementary
infinitive, should enable students to answer the question. |
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2. | The case and number of libellis (line 1) are
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| (A) | nominative singular |
| (B) | genitive singular |
| (C) | dative plural |
| (D) | ablative plural |
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| Key : | D. |
| Type : | Grammar. |
| Level : | Medium. |
| Rationale : | Because libellis is separated
by three intervening words from the preposition that governs it, students may not recognize it as an object in its nominative form. |
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3. | In line 2, iste refers to
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| (A) | the poet Martial himself |
| (B) | the poet Martial's mention of the woman in verse |
| (C) | the woman's poetry |
| (D) | the woman's beliefs |
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| Key : | B. |
| Type : | Reference. |
| Level : | Difficult. |
| Rationale : | The agreement between
iste and honos may be difficult for students to recognize and they may not be familiar with honos in its nominative form. |
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4. | In line 4, chartis refers to the same thing as
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| (A) | libellis (line 1) |
| (B) | honos (line 2) |
| (C) | res (line 3) |
| (D) | nobis (line 3) |
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| Key : | A. |
| Type : | Reference. |
| Level : | Medium. |
| Rationale : | Although two lines separate
libellis from chartis, students who know the meaning
of these words should be able to create the link. The fact that they have
similar endings will draw students' attention to them. |
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5. | From the words ne valeam … meis (lines 3-4), we learn that the poet Martial
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| (A) | would rather die than grant the woman's request |
| (B) | claims to have used too much paper for his poetry |
| (C) | finds the woman's request most pleasing |
| (D) | thanks the woman for pointing out an error in his poem |
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| Key : | C. |
| Type : | Comprehension. |
| Level : | Medium. |
| Rationale : | Although all distracters
are plausible, (A) is particularly attractive since it
incorporates the glossed phrase ne valeam and suggests
that death would be a pleasing alternative (gratissima). |
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6. | From the words Sed … impostum (lines 5-6), we learn that the woman has
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| (A) | a bad reputation |
| (B) | no talent as a poet |
| (C) | a suggestion for the title of a poem |
| (D) | an unattractive name |
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| Key : | D. |
| Type : | Comprehension. |
| Level : | Medium. |
| Rationale : | The Latin here is fairly straightforward with two glosses to help. The difficulty
lies in the fact that the woman's odd name does not appear
until the end of the passage. |
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7. | The words mater … dedit (line 6) are translated
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| (A) | which your hard-hearted mother has given you |
| (B) | because your mother has done terrible things to you |
| (C) | a mother who has given up many things for you |
| (D) | endure the things that your mother has given you |
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| Key : | A. |
| Type : | Translation. |
| Level : | Easy. |
| Rationale : | There is nothing difficult
about the grammar or vocabulary in this clause. |
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8. | Each time quod appears in lines 6-7, it refers to
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| (A) | nomen (line 5) |
| (B) | fonte (line 5) |
| (C) | sororum (line 5) |
| (D) | Phoebo (line 8) |
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| Key : | A. |
| Type : | Reference. |
| Level : | Medium. |
| Rationale : | Reference questions often
prove difficult for students, but, since nomen is the only
neuter choice, the answer is more obvious. |
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9. | The repetition of the word nec in lines 7-8 is a figure of speech known as
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| (A) | chiasmus |
| (B) | interlocked order (synchesis) |
| (C) | polysyndeton |
| (D) | metonymy |
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| Key : | C. |
| Type : | Figure of speech. |
| Level : | Easy. |
| Rationale : | Even if students are
forced to guess the correct answer, recognition of the
meaning of the prefix poly- should make this question
easy. |
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10. | In line 8, cum is translated
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| (A) | when |
| (B) | since |
| (C) | although |
| (D) | with |
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| Key : | D. |
| Type : | Translation. |
| Level : | Easy. |
| Rationale : | Since all options are possible
translations of cum, the student will have to look at the
context and should easily recognize the prepositional
phrase cum Phoebo. |
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11. | The metrical pattern of the first four feet of line 9 is
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| (A) | dactyl-dactyl-spondee-dactyl |
| (B) | spondee-spondee-dactyl-dactyl |
| (C) | dactyl-spondee-spondee-dactyl |
| (D) | dactyl-spondee-dactyl-spondee |
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| Key : | C. |
| Type : | Metrics. |
| Level : | Medium. |
| Rationale : | Students will have to recognize the
elision between Ergo and aliquod. |
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12. | The case of Musis (line 9) is determined by
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| (A) | Ergo (line 9) |
| (B) | gratum (line 9) |
| (C) | tibi (line 9) |
| (D) | adopta (line 9) |
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| Key : | B. |
| Type : | Grammar. |
| Level : | Easy. |
| Rationale : | The fact that gratum immediately
precedes Musis and the fact that it is an easy word to
translate make this question easy. |
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13. | What part of speech is the word belle (line 10)?
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| (A) | Noun |
| (B) | Verb |
| (C) | Adjective |
| (D) | Adverb |
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| Key : | D. |
| Type : | Grammar. |
| Level : | Medium. |
| Rationale : | Belle is not a commonly
encountered word, although in context its part of speech
should be clear. |
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