Horace 28

Question 1

gracilis puer

Answer 1

slender boy

young in experienced man
sets idyllic tone

Question 2

in multa rosa

Answer 2

amidst many roses

rose petal often strewn at parties
sets idyllic tone

Question 3

perfusus liquidis odoribus

Answer 3

sprinkled with sweet-smelling liquids

perfumes at parties
sets idyllic tone

Question 4

grato sub antro

Answer 4

in a welcome cave

perhaps a setting for a romantic tryst particularly with the adjective ‘grato’- welcome
sets idyllic tone

Question 5

simplex munditiis

Answer 5

so simply neat

juxtaposition- simplex suggests not much effort but munditiis suggests effort
sets idyllic tone

Question 6

heu

Answer 6

alas

indicates change of tone

Question 7

flebit

Answer 7

weep

the boy will not be happy in this relationship with Pyrrha

Question 8

fidem

Answer 8

loyalty

Horace is questioning Pyrrha’s loyalty

Question 9

aspera nigris aequora ventis

Answer 9

at the rough seas with the black winds

imagery of a storm reflecting the temper of Pyrrha

Question 10

insolens

Answer 10

unaccustomed

‘unused to’ links to the puer- boy used earlier- he is inexperienced, both in maturity and in maturity and and in what Pyrrha is like- unlike Horace

Question 11

nunc… fruitur… sperat

Answer 11

now…enjoys…hopes

life now, present tense verbs, how much he is enjoying the present with her. Contrast future verbs flebit-weep in line 6 when he finds out the truth about her

Question 12

nescius

Answer 12

not knowing

he is unaware

Question 13

semper… semper… sperat

Answer 13

always… always… hopes

alliteration of ‘s’ and ‘p’ to highlight his hopes about her

Question 14

aurae fallacis

Answer 14

breeze deceives

weather imagery showing she cant be trusted

Question 15

miseri

Answer 15

I pity those

Is horace genuinely sympathetic towards those men or is he bitter

Question 16

nites

Answer 16

shine

again is he still in love with her or is it bitterness, combined with intemptata- blandly?

Question 17

me tabula sacer votiva paries indicat uvida suspendisse potenti vestimenta maris deo

Answer 17

the sacred wall with all its votive palque shows me hanging wet clothes to the powerful god of the sea

imagery of a sailor at sea, links to weather imagery

Question 18

uvida vestimenta

Answer 18

wet clothes

Question 19

tabula sacer votiva paries

Answer 19

the sacred wall with its votive plaque

sailors would hang up votive tablets to the gods of the sea for a safe return after a stormy journey. Horace is “hanging up” his clothing, i.e. giving up on love or at least giving up on Pyrrha

Question 20

maris deo

Answer 20

god of the sea

usually a reference to Neptune, god of the sea; here Venus & her epithet as having been born from the sea