Thursday, September 23, 2004

hey drum-major, toss me that hyper baton!

yes, i know that was dumb. but what i really wanted to tell you is that i just came across a nice example of hyperbaton in catullus 65:

namque mei nuper Lethaeo in gurgit fratris
pallidulum manans alluit unda pedem...

'For recently has the flowing water washed the pale (dim.) foot of my brother in the Lethaean stream...'

i would also like there to be a transference of the diminutive from the foot itself to the adjective. i don't know why calling his foot a 'little foot' would bring about pathos, but for some reason it seems to me that it would.

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