AP Latin Literature
Encyclopedia
Advanced Placement Latin Literature (also AP Latin Lit) was one of two examinations (the other being AP Latin: Vergil
) offered by the College Board
's Advanced Placement Program
for high school
students to earn college
credit
for a college-level course in Latin literature
.
Due to low numbers of students taking AP Latin Literature, it was discontinued after the 2008-09 year. The AP Latin: Vergil
exam is now the sole Latin exam offered by the College Board.
examination, which focuses almost exclusively on Virgil
's Aeneid
. The course itself followed one of three different curricula, each focusing on a different pair of authors: Catullus
-Cicero
, Catullus-Horace
, and Catullus-Ovid
. For each syllabus, students were expected to be able to read, translate, interpret, and analyze selected poems by Catullus as well as selected writings of the secondary author.
All students were expected to be familiar with the following poems (approximately 800 lines worth) by Catullus: 1-5, 7-8, 10-13, 14a, 22, 30-31, 35-36, 40, 43-46, 49-51, 60, 64 (lines 50-253), 65, 68 (lines 1-40), 69-70, 72, 76-77, 84-87, 96, 101, 109, and 116.
Students who chose to study Cicero as their secondary author read the entire contents of Pro Archia Poeta Oratio
and Sections 17-23 and 100-104 from De Amicitia. It was also suggested that students read the entire English translation of De Amicitia.
Students who chose to study Horace read the following Odes: 1, 5, 9, 11, 13, 22-25, and 37-38 from Book 1; 3, 7, 10, and 14 from Book 2; 1, 9, 13, and 30 from Book 3; and 7 from Book 4. They also read 1.9 from his Sermones
.
Students who chose to study Ovid read the following stories from his Metamorphoses: Apollo and Daphne
(lines 452-567 from Book 1), Pyramus and Thisbe
(lines 55-166 from Book 4), Daedalus and Icarus
(lines 183-235 from Book 8), Baucis and Philemon
(lines 616-724 from Book 8), and Pygmalion
(lines 283-297 from Book 10). They must also read 1.1, 1.3, 1.9, 1.11, 1.12, and 3.15 from his Amores.
exam and one of which was a passage of Catullus that students should have already studied. The multiple-choice questions were concerned with comprehension, translation, metrical scanning, poetic devices, and grammatical structures.
The students were then given a 120-minute free-response section. This section began with a 15-minute reading period, during which students would view the free-response questions and outline their responses, but could not begin writing the essays. Students then had the remaining 105 minutes to respond to the questions.
Twelve questions were provided, three for each author on the syllabus. All students would have to answer the questions pertaining to Catullus. They then answered the three questions pertaining to the secondary author that they studied. It was suggested that students devote one hour of the essay-writing period to the Catullus questions and forty-five minutes to the remaining three questions.
Each set of questions included one short translation of a poem or passage from the syllabus. For each of the remaining two Catullus questions, students were provided with one or two poems or excerpts of poems and must respond to a specific questions concerning the poetry. They must have also answered a similar prompt for one of the essays for their secondary author. For the final question of the free-response section, students were given a passage from the secondary author. They must have responded to short-answer questions concerning poetic devices, grammatical structures, and comprehension of both the literal text and implications from the grammar and vocabulary.
The grade distribution for 2007 was:
AP Latin: Vergil
Advanced Placement Latin: Vergil is an examination offered by the College Board's Advanced Placement Program. The current exam focuses on selections from the Aeneid, written by Augustan author Publius Vergilius Maro, also known as Vergil or Virgil...
) offered by the College Board
College Board
The College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...
's Advanced Placement Program
Advanced Placement Program
The Advanced Placement program is a curriculum in the United States and Canada sponsored by the College Board which offers standardized courses to high school students that are generally recognized to be equivalent to undergraduate courses in college...
for high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
students to earn college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
credit
Credit (education)
A course credit is a unit that gives weighting to the value, level or time requirements of an academic course taken at a school or other educational institution.- United States :...
for a college-level course in Latin literature
Latin literature
Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings of the ancient Romans. In many ways, it seems to be a continuation of Greek literature, using many of the same forms...
.
Due to low numbers of students taking AP Latin Literature, it was discontinued after the 2008-09 year. The AP Latin: Vergil
AP Latin: Vergil
Advanced Placement Latin: Vergil is an examination offered by the College Board's Advanced Placement Program. The current exam focuses on selections from the Aeneid, written by Augustan author Publius Vergilius Maro, also known as Vergil or Virgil...
exam is now the sole Latin exam offered by the College Board.
Material tested
The AP Latin Literature exam was designed to test students' knowledge of a range of classical Latin literature, as opposed to the AP Latin: VergilAP Latin: Vergil
Advanced Placement Latin: Vergil is an examination offered by the College Board's Advanced Placement Program. The current exam focuses on selections from the Aeneid, written by Augustan author Publius Vergilius Maro, also known as Vergil or Virgil...
examination, which focuses almost exclusively on Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
's Aeneid
Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
. The course itself followed one of three different curricula, each focusing on a different pair of authors: Catullus
Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the Republican period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.-Biography:...
-Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, Catullus-Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
, and Catullus-Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
. For each syllabus, students were expected to be able to read, translate, interpret, and analyze selected poems by Catullus as well as selected writings of the secondary author.
All students were expected to be familiar with the following poems (approximately 800 lines worth) by Catullus: 1-5, 7-8, 10-13, 14a, 22, 30-31, 35-36, 40, 43-46, 49-51, 60, 64 (lines 50-253), 65, 68 (lines 1-40), 69-70, 72, 76-77, 84-87, 96, 101, 109, and 116.
Students who chose to study Cicero as their secondary author read the entire contents of Pro Archia Poeta Oratio
Pro Archia Poeta
Pro Archia Poeta is Marcus Tullius Cicero's oration in the defense of Aulus Licinius Archias, a poet accused of not being a Roman citizen. This accusation is believed to have been a political move against Lucullus through Archias. The poet was originally Greek but had been living in Rome for an...
and Sections 17-23 and 100-104 from De Amicitia. It was also suggested that students read the entire English translation of De Amicitia.
Students who chose to study Horace read the following Odes: 1, 5, 9, 11, 13, 22-25, and 37-38 from Book 1; 3, 7, 10, and 14 from Book 2; 1, 9, 13, and 30 from Book 3; and 7 from Book 4. They also read 1.9 from his Sermones
Sermonum liber primus
The Satires are a collection of satirical poems written by the Roman poet Horace. Composed in dactylic hexameters, the Satires explore the secrets of human happiness and literary perfection...
.
Students who chose to study Ovid read the following stories from his Metamorphoses: Apollo and Daphne
Apollo and Daphne
Apollo and Daphne is a story from ancient Greek mythology, retold by Hellenistic and Roman authors in the form of an amorous vignette;The curse of Apollo, the god of the sun and music, was brought onto him when he insulted the young Eros Apollo and Daphne is a story from ancient Greek mythology,...
(lines 452-567 from Book 1), Pyramus and Thisbe
Pyramus and Thisbe
Pyramus and Thisbe are two characters of Roman mythology, whose love story of ill-fated lovers is also a sentimental romance.The tale is told by Ovid in his Metamorphoses.-Plot:...
(lines 55-166 from Book 4), Daedalus and Icarus
Daedalus
In Greek mythology, Daedalus was a skillful craftsman and artisan.-Family:...
(lines 183-235 from Book 8), Baucis and Philemon
Baucis and Philemon
In Ovid's moralizing fable , which stands on the periphery of Greek mythology and Roman mythology, Baucis and Philemon were an old married couple in the region of Tyana, which Ovid places in Phrygia, and the only ones in their town to welcome disguised gods Zeus and Hermes , thus embodying the...
(lines 616-724 from Book 8), and Pygmalion
Pygmalion (mythology)
Pygmalion is a legendary figure of Cyprus. Though Pygmalion is the Greek version of the Phoenician royal name Pumayyaton, he is most familiar from Ovid's Metamorphoses, X, in which Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had carved.-In Ovid:In Ovid's narrative, Pygmalion was a...
(lines 283-297 from Book 10). They must also read 1.1, 1.3, 1.9, 1.11, 1.12, and 3.15 from his Amores.
Abilities tested
The AP Latin Literature exam tested students' abilities to:- Translate literally a selected Latin passage
- Explicate certain words or phrases in context
- Identify the content and significance of selected excerpts
- Identify and analyze characteristic or noteworthy features of the authors' writing, including use of imagery, figures of speechFigures of SpeechFigures of Speech is a hip hop group consisting of MCs Eve and Jyant. They performed at the Good Life Cafe in the early 1990s and were featured on the Project Blowed compilation....
, metricalMeter (poetry)In poetry, metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set of metres alternating in a particular order. The study of metres and forms of versification is known as prosody...
and sound effects - Discuss particular themes or motifs, not only those suggested by passages, but also those relevant to other sections
- Analyze and discuss structure, as well as demonstrate awareness of the features used in the construction of a poem or argument
- Scan the meter of selections
Exam format
The AP Latin Literature exam began with a 60-minute multiple-choice section. Students were given four passages, three of which were shared with the AP Latin: VergilAP Latin: Vergil
Advanced Placement Latin: Vergil is an examination offered by the College Board's Advanced Placement Program. The current exam focuses on selections from the Aeneid, written by Augustan author Publius Vergilius Maro, also known as Vergil or Virgil...
exam and one of which was a passage of Catullus that students should have already studied. The multiple-choice questions were concerned with comprehension, translation, metrical scanning, poetic devices, and grammatical structures.
The students were then given a 120-minute free-response section. This section began with a 15-minute reading period, during which students would view the free-response questions and outline their responses, but could not begin writing the essays. Students then had the remaining 105 minutes to respond to the questions.
Twelve questions were provided, three for each author on the syllabus. All students would have to answer the questions pertaining to Catullus. They then answered the three questions pertaining to the secondary author that they studied. It was suggested that students devote one hour of the essay-writing period to the Catullus questions and forty-five minutes to the remaining three questions.
Each set of questions included one short translation of a poem or passage from the syllabus. For each of the remaining two Catullus questions, students were provided with one or two poems or excerpts of poems and must respond to a specific questions concerning the poetry. They must have also answered a similar prompt for one of the essays for their secondary author. For the final question of the free-response section, students were given a passage from the secondary author. They must have responded to short-answer questions concerning poetic devices, grammatical structures, and comprehension of both the literal text and implications from the grammar and vocabulary.
Grade distribution
In the 2007 administration, 3,771 students took the exam from 573 schools. The mean score was a 2.65.The grade distribution for 2007 was:
| Score | Percent |
|---|---|
| 5 | 13.5% |
| 4 | 14.6% |
| 3 | 25.5% |
| 2 | 16.2% |
| 1 | 30.2% |