Advanced Placement (AP) Latin Literature (also AP Latin Lit) was one of two examinations (the other being

AP Latin Advanced Placement (AP) Latin, formerly Advanced Placement (AP) Latin: Vergil, is an examination in Latin literature offered by the College Board's Advanced Placement Program. Prior to the 2012–2013 academic year, the course focused on poetry s ...

) offered by the

College Board The College Board is an American nonprofit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an association of colleges, it runs a ...

Advanced Placement Program Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

for

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

students to earn

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

credit Credit (from Latin verb ''credit'', meaning "one believes") is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt), ...

for a college-level course in

Latin literature Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the Latin language. The beginning of formal Latin literature dates to 240 BC, when the first stage play in Latin was performed in Rome. Latin literature ...

. Due to low numbers of students taking AP Latin Literature, it was discontinued after the 2008–09 year. The

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: Vergil examination, which focuses almost exclusively on

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...

''. The course itself followed one of three different curricula, each focusing on a different pair of authors:

Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His s ...

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

, Catullus-

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

, and Catullus-

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

. 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 ''Laelius de Amicitia'' (or simply ''De Amicitia'') is a treatise on friendship ('' amicitia'') by the Roman statesman and author Marcus Tullius Cicero, written in 44 BC. Background The work is written as a dialogue between prominent figures of ...

''. 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 The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...

'':

Apollo and Daphne Apollo and Daphne is a transformation myth. No written or artistic versions survive from ancient Greek mythology, so it is likely Hellenistic in origin. It was retold by Roman authors in the form of an amorous vignette. History The earliest kno ...

(lines 452-567 from Book 1),

Pyramus and Thisbe Pyramus and Thisbe ( grc, Πύραμος και Θίσβη, Pýramos kai Thísbe) are a pair of ill-fated lovers whose story forms part of Ovid's ''Metamorphoses''. The story has since been retold by many authors. Mythology Ovid Pyramus and ...

(lines 55-166 from Book 4), Daedalus and Icarus (lines 183-235 from Book 8),

Baucis and Philemon In Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'', 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 (in Roman mythology, Jupiter and ...

(lines 616-724 from Book 8), and

Pygmalion Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to: Mythology * Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue Stage * ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau * ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...

(lines 283-297 from Book 10). They were also required to read 1.1, 1.3, 1.9, 1.11, 1.12, and 3.15 from his ''

Amores Amores may refer to: * ''Amores'' (Ovid), the first book by the poet Ovid, published in 5 volumes in 16 BCE * ''Amores'' (Lucian), a play by Lucian; also known as ''Erotes'' * Erotes (mythology), known as Amores by the Romans * ''Amores'', a bo ...

''.

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 Imagery is visual symbolism, or figurative language that evokes a mental image or other kinds of sense impressions, especially in a literary work, but also in other activities such as psychotherapy. Forms There are five major types of sensory ima ...

figures of speech A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from ordinary language use in order to produce a rhetorical effect. Figures of speech are traditionally classified into '' schemes,'' which vary the ordinary ...

, metrical 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: Vergil 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.College Board AP. ''Latin: Vergil, Latin Literature Course Description'', pg. 32.

/ref> 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 2.65 with a standard deviation of 1.39. The grade distribution for 2007 was:

Notes

External links

AP Latin Literature at CollegeBoard.com
{{College Board Advanced Placement Latin-language literature