In Polypus Fur: A Latin Novella, Apicius is the guardian of a warehouse filled with pickled fish. He’d much rather be a cook than guarding a bunch of angry merchants’ fish. He’s not a cook though. So when an eight-armed thief starts stealing all the pickled fish, Apicius has to rise to the occasion and defend the warehouse. And he’s most definitely not up to this challenge.
Polypus Fur is suitable for use in Latin I/II. This novella may be appropriate at other levels depending on the students’ years of study and its intended use. The first chapter of the novella is available here.
Polypus Fur: A Latin Novella is available on Amazon. It is also available in classroom or free voluntary reading sets on Bombax Press.
About the Plot of Polypus Fur
This story is adapted based on ancient legends of a roving, thieving octopus that emerges to steal people’s fish. Different versions exist in both Aelian (Greek and English) and Pliny (Latin and English). Although some of the details of the story differ, the gist of the story is much the same: From the depths of the unknown, an octopus ventures forth, steals fish, is otherworldly in its strength and appearance, and fights valiantly. Camilla Asplund Ingemark has a wonderful article, “The Octopus in the Sewers: An Ancient Legend Analogue,” discussing the two versions at length. For my own purposes, I did adapt and change details to better fit the story I wanted to tell based on this legend.
This story is funny and entertaining romp. Apicius tries again and again to first defend the warehouse and then to achieve his new goal after he encounters the thief. Apicius is frequently yelled at by the angry merchants, particularly by the irate and unkind Quintus, though he is able to ultimately turn the tables upon them.
About the Vocabulary and Grammar
This novella is intended for use in the Latin 1-2 classroom. The level of use depends on whether students are reading independently or learning the stories in class. The novella may be appropriate for other levels, which is mostly dependent on vocabulary and reader interest. No amount of vocabulary knowledge makes up for a dull book, but it can be harder to read a book that has too much unknown vocabulary.
I always write novellas with the goal of limiting the overall amount of vocabulary and focusing on using high-frequency vocabulary. This novella breaks that mold a little more than my others typically do, especially for the intended level. The novella does contain some vocabulary that is fairly low frequency in Latin literature that are very high frequency here. For example, the word for pickled fish (salsāmenta) appears about 230 times (in 6,400 words), but it is a rare word outside of this story. Octopus (polypus) isn’t exactly a high frequency word in Latin literature, and it appears nearly 300 times in this novella. Both words are essential for the story.
I also researched the language I should use for this novella. The Romans had many colorful words to describe the arms of an octopus. Although my favorite was crinēs (hair!), I went with the word closest to what we use for the sake of simplicity: bracchia (arms). I also read or otherwise skimmed texts related to octopi to determine what the Romans used to ensure that I was using appropriate vocabulary. My favorite phrase in this novella, effundere ātrāmentum (to pour out ink), is more or less attested in both Cicero (ātrāmentī effūsiōne) and Pliny (effūsō ātrāmentō).
Despite the use of some low-frequency words, I did write this novella with the goal of limiting vocabulary to further students’ ability to read and comprehend the story independently. I made extensive use of both Dickinson College Commentaries’ Core Vocabulary as well as Essential Latin Vocabulary. I aimed to have as many words as practicable appear in these two lexical resources to ensure that students who are reading this novella are being exposed to high-frequency words in Latin literature. Although not all words appear in these two resources, I did make careful decisions about which vocabulary to include or excise based on these lists, and I chose between synonyms based on which word occurs more often in Latin literature.
This novella contains 166 total words. Of those words, six are proper nouns like Apīcius and Quīntus. In addition, I always glossed eleven words or phrases that might be unfamiliar to students that are used infrequently but were relevant to the story. I also carefully identified and used 46 cognates like animāl and colōre that were used infrequently in the novella. With proper names, glossed words, and clear cognates removed, students need a working vocabulary of 103 words to read this novella.
Unlike the vocabulary, the grammar in this novella is not sheltered. This novella is set in the present tense, but it does include substantial dialogue, incorporating the present and future tenses. There are a few gerunds to express purpose as well as a handful of instances of the present subjunctive. Given the similarity of the forms (say, capiat and capit), these grammatical forms are not road blocks to understanding.
About the Artwork
Sara Rude-McCune brought Polypus and Apicius to life with delightful illustrations, and I’m so grateful to have worked with her on this project. I know Sara from years back when she was my roommate. I was always impressed whenever she showed me the artwork she was working on for various commissions or for different comics and graphic novels. When I started thinking about how I’d need to have this mischievous, thieving octopus illustrated, I knew that she’d nail the project. And she did—I hope you enjoy her artwork. She was a pure delight to collaborate with. If you would like to commission Sara for a project, you can reach her through her website here.
About the Text Features
Polypus Fur: A Latin Novella has a full index of all the words in their various forms. In the index, the reader can look up all unknown words. The index lists verbs separately. As such, a reader could independently look up both egone and mēcum without knowing the dictionary entry of the word. The index provides a general translation of the word. Verbs include a translation that is grammatically appropriate and would fit the context of the sentence. This text also contains a dictionary. This dictionary offers all the principal parts. The dictionary notes how frequently the words appear in Latin Literature according to the Core Latin Vocabulary or Essential Latin Vocabulary.
If you would like to review the vocabulary used in Polypus Fur: A Latin Novella, the dictionary is available here.
