The Odyssey of Learning Latin
By Ana Leyendecker
Odysseus my maaaan. Here our great hero subdues Polyphemus with wine like we subdue declensions with...um...flashcards!
Do you ever feel as if Latin is an arduous journey with no end? Lucky for you, Odysseus knows the hardships and time required for any worthwhile journey. Let’s take a look at the epic journey of learning Latin through the lense of the Odyssey.
In the beginning it appears easy – verbs are introduced and the ship of Latin grammar has been launched. Suddenly, you go hunting for new parts of speech nouns, and just like Polyphemus, they arise and trap you. There are five different declensions, each with distinction yet overlapping endings and with different genders, cases, and numbers. Good thing you never walk in blind into translations and escape the different traps laid for you by deceitful nouns. Sadly, having outmaneuvered the nouns, Poseidon’s wrath comes in the form of adjectives. These adjectives subconsciously make life more difficult matching in case, number, and gender, but often belonging to different declensions (so they are hard to match). Wisdom protects you, and escape from the swirling waves of adjectives is possible.