| ablative absolute | A Latin grammatical construction consisting of a noun or pronoun in the ablative case with a modifying participle, used to express the circumstances or conditions under which the main action occurs. |
| ablative case | A Latin grammatical case with multiple functions, including showing the means, agent, manner, time, place, or separation in a sentence. |
| accusative case | A Latin grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a verb and, without a preposition, to indicate direction or destination ('place to where'). |
| alliteration | The repetition of the same initial consonant sound in successive words, used to draw attention to ideas or create rhythmic quality. |
| allusions | Indirect or implied references to people, literary works, or historical events that readers are expected to recognize. |
| anaphora | The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or lines, used to emphasize ideas and create momentum. |
| Annals | A historical work by Tacitus that examined the lives of emperors and the history of the Roman Empire in the first century CE. |
| author's life and background | The biographical and contextual information about an author that can inform the interpretation and meaning of their literary works. |
| Bay of Naples | A body of water on the west coast of the Italian peninsula where Mt. Vesuvius is located and where the Roman navy was stationed at Misenum. |
| comedy | A dramatic genre intended to entertain through humor, often depicting ordinary characters and situations with a lighthearted or satirical tone. |
| comparative adjective | An adjective form in Latin that expresses a higher degree of a quality and can be accompanied by the ablative case to show comparison. |
| dialogues | A literary form presenting a conversation between two or more characters, often used to explore philosophical or rhetorical ideas. |
| didactic poetry | Poetry written with the primary purpose of instructing or teaching the reader about a subject, often philosophical or technical in nature. |
| Emperor Trajan | Roman emperor who ruled from 98 to 117 CE and expanded the empire to its greatest territorial extent while overseeing major public building programs. |
| epigrams | Brief, pointed poems or inscriptions, often witty or satirical in nature, typically expressing a single thought or observation. |
| epistles | A major genre of Roman literature consisting of letters, which were either real correspondence or fictional compositions, often published in collections. |
| eruption of Mt. Vesuvius | The volcanic eruption in 79 CE that destroyed and buried several Roman towns including Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, and Stabiae. |
| everyday life | The ordinary activities, routines, and domestic experiences of people in a particular historical period or society. |
| figurative language | Language that uses figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, personification, and symbolism to convey meaning beyond the literal sense of words. |
| figurative use | The use of words in a non-literal, symbolic, or analogous sense to create meaning beyond their dictionary definitions. |
| genre | A category or type of literary work with distinctive characteristics, conventions, and features. |
| Herculaneum | A Roman town on the Bay of Naples that was buried and destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. |
| Histories | A historical work by Tacitus that examined the lives of emperors and the history of the Roman Empire in the first century CE. |
| historiography | The writing of history; the study and interpretation of historical events and sources in Latin literature. |
| imagery | Vivid descriptive language that appeals to the senses and creates mental pictures in the reader's mind. |
| implied meaning | The meaning suggested or understood indirectly from a text, rather than stated explicitly. |
| indicative verb | A verb form that expresses facts, statements, or questions in a straightforward manner. |
| inferences | Conclusions drawn from evidence and reasoning based on textual clues rather than explicit statements. |
| infinitive | A verbal form that functions as the predicate verb in an indirect statement or as a noun. |
| literal translation | A translation that closely adheres to the original text's word order, grammar, and structure rather than conveying meaning in natural target language phrasing. |
| locative case | A Latin grammatical case used to indicate location, translated as 'at' or 'in,' primarily used with names of cities and small towns. |
| metaphor | A rhetorical figure in which an implied comparison is achieved through figurative use of words, where words are used in an analogous rather than literal sense. |
| Misenum | A location at the northern end of the Bay of Naples where the Roman navy was stationed and where Pliny the Elder served as admiral. |
| Mt. Vesuvius | A volcano located near the center of the Bay of Naples that erupted in 79 CE, destroying the Roman towns of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, and Stabiae. |
| Natural History | A comprehensive work written by Pliny the Elder that served as a model for the modern encyclopedia and is the largest single surviving work from the Roman Empire. |
| ne | A Latin conjunction used to introduce negative purpose clauses with subjunctive verbs. |
| Oplontis | A Roman town on the Bay of Naples that was buried and destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. |
| oratory | The art of formal public speaking and rhetoric; in Latin literature, speeches and rhetorical compositions designed to persuade or move an audience. |
| parallel structure | The repetition of phrases, clauses, or sentences in similar grammatical forms to create balance, emphasis, or establish relationships between ideas. |
| Pliny the Elder | A Roman admiral, author, and scholar (c. 23-79 CE) who was Pliny the Younger's maternal uncle and wrote the Natural History, a comprehensive work that served as a model for the modern encyclopedia. |
| Pliny the Younger | A Roman lawyer, magistrate, and letter writer (61-c. 113 CE) who served under Emperor Trajan and whose letters provide insight into Roman life and administration in the first century CE. |
| Pompeii | A Roman town on the Bay of Naples that was buried and destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. |
| purpose clause | A subordinate clause introduced by ut or ne with a subjunctive verb that expresses the purpose or intention of the main clause action. |
| references | Direct mentions or citations of specific people, places, events, or concepts in a text. |
| repetition | The deliberate reuse of words, phrases, or grammatical structures in a text to create emphasis, rhythm, or stylistic effect. |
| result clause | A subordinate clause introduced by ut with a subjunctive verb that expresses the consequence or result of an action in the main clause. |
| rhetorical figure | A device of language used to create specific effects and enhance meaning in writing or speech. |
| Roman social norms | The established customs, behaviors, and social expectations that governed interactions and relationships in Roman society. |
| simile | A rhetorical figure that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things, typically using 'like' or 'as'. |
| Stabiae | A Roman town south of Mt. Vesuvius that was in the direct path of ash and cinder from the 79 CE eruption and is mentioned in Pliny's letters. |
| stylistic device | A technique or literary tool used by an author to create a particular effect or enhance the meaning and impact of a text. |
| subjunctive mood | A verb mood used in Latin to express wishes, doubts, conditions, and in dependent clauses such as indirect questions. |
| Tacitus | A Roman historian (c. 56-c. 120 CE) best known for his Annals and Histories, which examined the lives of emperors and the history of the Roman Empire in the first century CE. |
| tension | A state of suspense, anxiety, or emotional strain created through literary techniques to engage the reader and heighten dramatic effect. |
| tragedy | A dramatic genre depicting serious events and the downfall of a protagonist, typically involving noble characters and evoking pity and fear. |
| ut | A Latin conjunction that can introduce clauses with indicative verbs (translated 'like,' 'as,' 'when') or subjunctive verbs (showing result or purpose). |
| verb | Words that express actions, states, or conditions and are central to Latin sentence structure. |
| verbals | Non-finite verb forms in Latin (such as infinitives, participles, and gerunds) that function as other parts of speech while retaining verbal characteristics. |