Section 7 · lines 208–219
Laocoön and his sons seized · Aeneid II · GCSE Latin · OCR J282/05
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SubjectObjectVerbGenitiveDativeAblativeConjunctionAdverb
Latin
English
208pōnĕ lĕgīt, sĭnŭātque͜ īmmēnsă vŏlūmĭnĕ tērga.
208behind and twists their immense backs in coils.
209fīt sŏnĭtūs spūmāntĕ sălō; iāmque͜ ārvă tĕnēbānt,
210ārdēntīsque͜ ŏcŭlōs sūffēctī sānguĭne͜ ĕt īgni,
211sībĭlă lāmbēbānt līnguīs vībrāntĭbŭs ōra.
209There is a roar as the sea foams; and now they were reaching the land,
210and, their blazing eyes filled with blood and fire,
211they were licking their hissing mouths with flickering tongues.
212dīffŭgĭmūs vīsu͜ ēxsānguēs: īlli͜ āgmĭnĕ cērto
213Lāŏcŏōntă pĕtūnt; ēt prīmūm pārvă dŭōrum
214cōrpŏră nātōrūm sērpēns āmplēxŭs ŭtērque
215īmplĭcăt, ēt mĭsĕrōs mōrsū dēpāscĭtŭr ārtus;
212We scatter, pale at the sight; they, in a steady column,
213make for Laocoon; and first each serpent seizes the small
214bodies of his two sons in its embrace
215and entwines them, and feeds on their wretched limbs with bites;
216pōst īpsum͜ aūxĭlĭō sŭbĕūntem͜ āc tēlă fĕrēntem
217cōrrĭpĭūnt, spīrīsquĕ lĭgānt īngēntĭbŭs; ēt iam
218bīs mĕdĭum͜ āmplēxī, bīs cōllō squāmĕă cīrcum
219tērgă dătī, sŭpĕrānt căpĭte͜ ēt cērvīcĭbŭs āltis.
216Next, as he comes to help them, carrying weapons, Laocoon himself
217they seize and bind in huge coils; and now,
218twice encircling his waist, twice wrapping their scaly
219backs around his neck, they tower over him with their heads and lofty necks.
Style notes this section · 33Word order · 14Repetition and structure · 2Sound and metre · 5Word choice · 1Imagery and tone · 1Grammar · 10
208
legitHistoric present
skims
The present tense puts the snakes' approach before the reader's eyes, as if Aeneas were watching it happen again as he speaks.
208
sinuatEmphatic position
curves
Placing the verb early stresses the winding movement of the snakes before we see their huge backs.
208
sinuatHistoric present
curves
A second present tense keeps the scene vivid: the coils seem to be moving now.
208
immensa tergaHyperbaton
huge backs
Adjective and noun are split across the line, so the huge backs seem to stretch out over the whole line, just as the snakes stretch over the sea.
209
fitHistoric present
there is (a sound)
The short present-tense verb opening the line makes the noise sudden and immediate.
209
sonitus spumante saloAlliteration
the sound of the foaming sea
The repeated s sounds imitate the hiss of the foam, and of the snakes themselves.
209
alta, pelago, undas, pontum, saloVariatio
deep, open sea, waves, sea, salt sea
Virgil uses five different words for the sea in a few lines, which keeps the description fresh and makes the sea seem vast and ever-present.
210
sanguine et igniPairing
with blood and fire
Blood and fire are paired to describe the snakes' eyes, which makes them seem both murderous and unnatural.
210
sanguine et igniEmphatic position
with blood and fire
The phrase is held to the end of the line, so the reader is left with the terrifying image of eyes burning red.
211
sibila lambebant linguis vibrantibusAlliteration and sibilance
licking their hissing mouths with flickering tongues
The repeated l and s sounds imitate the hissing and flicking of the snakes' tongues.
211
lambebantEmphatic position
they were licking
The verb comes early, so the reader sees the snakes' flickering tongues before anything else.
211
sibila oraFraming word order
hissing mouths
sibila opens the line and ora closes it, so the hissing mouths surround the tongues, just as they do in reality.
212
diffugimusEmphatic position
we scatter
The first word shows the Trojans' panic at once: they run in all directions before we are told why.
212
agmineMilitary language
in a steady column
agmen is the word for an army on the march, so the snakes advance like soldiers. This may hint at the Greek army that will soon pour into Troy.
213
LaocoöntaEmphatic position
Laocoön
Laocoön's name opens the line, so the reader knows at once who the snakes are hunting.
213
petuntHistoric present
they make for
The present tense makes the attack immediate and unstoppable.
214
parva, duorum, corpora, natorumInterwoven word order
the small bodies of his two sons
The adjectives and nouns are interlaced (parva duorum corpora natorum), just as the snake winds itself around the boys.
215
implicatHistoric present
entwines
The present tense brings the reader right into the horror as the snake wraps round the boys.
215
implicatEnjambment
entwines
The verb is carried over to the start of a new line, so the reader has to wait for the moment the snake strikes.
215
miserosPathos
wretched
Virgil calls the boys' limbs "wretched", which shows the narrator's pity and invites the reader to share it.
215
miseros morsuAlliteration
wretched ... with a bite
The repeated m sound links the pitiful limbs with the bite that devours them.
215
depasciturHistoric present
feeds on
depascitur is used of animals grazing, so the snakes seem to feed on the boys like cattle on grass. The present tense makes it horribly immediate.
215
miseros artusFraming word order
wretched limbs
miseros and artus frame the end of the line, so the boys' pitiful limbs surround the snakes' feeding.
217
corripiuntEmphatic position
they seize
The verb opens the line and its sentence, so the sudden attack on Laocoön himself hits the reader with force.
217
corripiuntHistoric present
they seize
The present tense makes the attack feel as if it is happening now.
217
spiris ingentibusHyperbaton
in huge coils
spiris and ingentibus are separated by the verb, so the coils seem to wrap around the action itself.
217
ligantHistoric present
they bind
Another present tense keeps the pace fast as the snakes tie Laocoön up.
218
bis medium, bis colloAnaphora
twice round his waist, twice round his neck
Repeating bis at the start of each phrase stresses how completely the snakes wrap him, coil after coil.
218
collo squamea circumAlliteration
around his neck ... scaly
The hard c sounds and the s of squamea give the line a harsh, hissing sound as the coils tighten.
218–219
circum terga datiTmesis
having wound their backs around
circum and dati belong together as one verb, circumdati ("wound around"), but Virgil splits them across the line. The coils of the word wrap round squamea terga just as the snakes wrap round Laocoön.
219
squamea tergaHyperbaton
scaly backs
The adjective ends line 218 and the noun begins line 219, so the snakes' scaly backs stretch over the line break just as they stretch around Laocoön.
219
superantEmphatic position
they tower above
The verb comes early, stressing the snakes' dominance as they rise above their victim.
219
superantHistoric present
they tower above
The present tense leaves the reader with a vivid picture of the snakes towering over Laocoön.
Notes on the text 1
213
LaocoontaLaocoön
Laocoön
A Trojan priest of Neptune who had warned the Trojans not to trust the horse and had hurled his spear into its side (lines 40–53). He was sacrificing a bull to Neptune on the shore when the snakes came.
Questions to think about · 3
- How does Virgil make the snakes seem both animal and almost like an army in lines 208–213?
- Why do you think the snakes attack the two boys before their father? What is the effect on the reader?
- Choose three sound effects in this section and explain how each one helps you picture the scene.
The Laocoön statue background
The death of Laocoön and his sons is also shown in one of the most famous sculptures of the ancient world, a marble group found in Rome in 1506 and now in the Vatican Museums. The writer Pliny the Elder saw it in the palace of the emperor Titus and names three sculptors from Rhodes: Hagesander, Polydorus and Athenodorus.
Scholars still argue whether the statue inspired Virgil, Virgil inspired the statue, or both go back to an earlier Greek source. If you can, look at a picture of it and compare how the sculptor and the poet each show the father's struggle and the sons' suffering.
Vocabulary in this section · 67 wordsVocabulary tester
pone (adv.) behind
lego, -ere, legi, lectum skim, pass over
sinuo, -are, -avi, -atum + -que curve, wind; and
immensus, -a, -um huge, immense
volumen, -inis (n.) coil, fold
tergum, -i (n.) back
fio, fieri, factus sum be made, happen
sonitus, -us (m.) sound, noise
spumo, -are, -avi, -atum foam
salum, -i (n.) sea, the open sea
iam (adv.) + -que now; and
arvum, -i (n.) field, land
teneo, -ere, tenui, tentum hold, reach
ardens, -entis + -que blazing; and
oculus, -i (m.) eye
sufficio, -ere, -feci, -fectum suffuse, fill
sanguis, -inis (m.) blood
et (conj.) and
ignis, -is (m.) fire
sibilus, -a, -um hissing
lambo, -ere, lambi lick
lingua, -ae (f.) tongue
vibro, -are, -avi, -atum quiver, flicker
os, oris (n.) mouth
diffugio, -ere, -fugi scatter, flee in all directions
visus, -us (m.) sight
exsanguis, -e pale, bloodless
ille, illa, illud that; (pl.) they
agmen, -inis (n.) column, line of march
certus, -a, -um sure, unswerving
Laocoon, -ontis (m.) Laocoön
peto, -ere, petivi, petitum make for, attack
primum (adv.) first
parvus, -a, -um small
duo, duae, duo two
corpus, -oris (n.) body
natus, -i (m.) son
serpens, -entis (m./f.) serpent, snake
amplector, -i, amplexus sum embrace, wrap round
uterque, utraque, utrumque each of the two
implico, -are, -avi, -atum entwine, entangle
miser, -era, -erum wretched, pitiful
morsus, -us (m.) bite
depascor, -i, depastus sum feed on, devour
artus, -us (m.) limb
post (adv.) afterwards, then
ipse, ipsa, ipsum himself
auxilium, -i (n.) help
subeo, -ire, -ii, -itum come up, approach
ac (conj.) and
telum, -i (n.) weapon, spear
fero, ferre, tuli, latum carry
corripio, -ere, -ripui, -reptum seize
spira, -ae (f.) + -que coil; and
ligo, -are, -avi, -atum bind, tie
ingens, -entis huge
iam (adv.) now, already
bis (adv.) twice
medius, -a, -um middle; (as noun) the waist
collum, -i (n.) neck
squameus, -a, -um scaly
circum (adv.) around
do, dare, dedi, datum put, place
supero, -are, -avi, -atum rise above, tower over
caput, -itis (n.) head
cervix, -icis (f.) neck
altus, -a, -um high, tall