AP LATIN
VERGIL
Arma virumque
cano……So begins
one of the most seminal works of Western literature: I sing
of arms and the man, the epic founding of Rome, but also
the epic of what it means to be human, both in the glory of
things and in the tears of things. It is the Aeneid that is
the text of this course. Its purpose is two-fold: to
prepare the student throroughly for the AP exam in May;
secondly, to introduce the student to this fundamental
tract of Western culture and to discuss the ideas contained
therein.
The course is run from a syllabus, which contains the
assignments for each day in the year. It also includes all
test dates, so the student knows well in advance when he or
she will have a test. The tests are all in the AP format,
with multiple choice, short translation, short essay and/or
long essay. The grading is also done according to AP
standards. This is done so that the student will be very
familiar with the format and will be comfortable (as
possible) in the taking of the actual AP exam. The January
semester exam is an actual three hour AP exam.
The student is expected to realize that this is a
college-level course and, as such, is very demanding. It
presumes good knowledge of Latin grammar and translation
skills. The number of lines that must be known for the AP
exam is about nineteen hundred. To cover these lines
thoroughly the course must go at a rapid pace. The syllabus
is designed so that the lines are covered by about
mid-April. This leaves about three and half weeks for
review. This is absolutely necessary, for we not only
review passages we have studied, but we also go over past
essays, do more work on sight reading, and take practice
tests. This review time is a necessary and important part
of the course and must be taken seriously by the student.
The student is encouraged to see the instructor for extra
help when needed.
1st Semester Syllabus
2nd Semester Syllabus