Breakdown of Poeta epithalamium recitat, et convivae Hymenaeum canunt.
et
and
poeta
the poet
conviva
the guest
recitare
to recite
Questions & Answers about Poeta epithalamium recitat, et convivae Hymenaeum canunt.
Why does poeta end in -a if it means a male poet?
Because poeta is a first-declension noun borrowed from Greek. In Latin, many first-declension nouns are feminine, but a few referring to male roles are masculine, including poeta (poet), agricola (farmer), and nauta (sailor).
So in this sentence, poeta is:
- nominative singular
- masculine
- the subject of recitat
Its -a ending does not make it feminine here.
How do I know poeta is the subject of the first clause?
In Latin, the subject is often shown by the nominative case and by the verb ending.
Here:
- poeta = nominative singular
- recitat = he/she/it recites, a 3rd person singular verb
Those match naturally: poeta recitat = the poet recites.
Latin does not rely on word order as much as English does, because case endings do much of that work.
What case is epithalamium, and why?
Epithalamium is in the accusative singular because it is the of .