Response Composition Project

Due by 5pm on Friday, December 3.

In this assignment, you will compose (in Latin) a response to one of Pliny’s letters. While I will delineate grammatical, syntactic, and vocabulary criteria for your response, its content is entirely up to you! See the details below.

Here is the step-by-step process you should take to complete this assignment:

1. Select one of the following letter and character pairs:
   • Shelton 1: Septicius Clarus
   • Shelton 2: Tacitus
   • Shelton 14: Calpurnia
   • Shelton 12: Calpurnia Hispulla

2. Compose a letter in the persona of your chosen character that responds directly to what Pliny talks about in your chosen letter.

3. Your letter should be composed entirely in Latin, and it should follow these guidelines:

   • All vocabulary that you use must be able to be found in Shelton’s glossary (pp. 211-252).
     • Your best bet is to use words that we’ve encountered in your class assignments or words that you’ve memorized in LATN 101 and 102 that you can find in Shelton’s glossary.
     • If you need a word that we haven’t encountered yet, your best bet is the English to Latin function on Whitaker’s Words, but keep in mind the guideline: the words that you use must be able to be found in Shelton’s glossary.
   • Your letter must include a greeting and a closing according to normal Roman letter writing conventions.
   • It must be five to seven sentences long. (The greeting and closing do not contribute to that total.)
     • A sentence is defined as a syntactic unit terminated by a period, semi-colon, exclamation point, or question mark.
   • Throughout the letter, you must use each of the following constructions at least once:
     • indirect statement
     • indirect command
     • relative clause of any kind (regular, connecting, characteristic, purpose)
     • ablative absolute
     • conditional clause
   • Throughout the letter, you must use each of the following at least once:
     • a passive verb (conjugated, participle, or infinitive) with an ablative of agent
     • a correlative conjunction
     • a prepositional phrase (in addition to the ablative of agent above)
     • a future tense verb (this may be the same verb as the passive verb above)
     • a perfect tense verb (this may be the same verb as the passive verb above)
   • The substance or content of the letter is entirely up to you – be creative! If you’ve chosen Shelton 14, do you as Calpurnia want to berate Pliny for being so needy? If you’ve chosen Shelton 2, do you as Tacitus want to make fun of Pliny by recounting past failed hunting trips?
4. Submit both the Latin letter and an English translation to me via email. Do not explain your choices or include any disclaimers – I will be evaluating the letter according to the Latin in front of me, and I will refer to the English only if I cannot figure out what you are trying to communicate.