Arruns's prayer and Apollo's partial answer
Aeneid 11.785–798: read the assigned Latin, work through language and interpretation, then practise with explained responses.
Section Paper 2 · Literature
Exam scope and assessment notes
Original teaching foundations for the 2026–2028 syllabus. Six prescribed texts have passage-specific sequences; all 693 printed vocabulary rows have been reconciled into 692 distinct records, with additional number, comparison and compound-verb practice. Linked teaching and lexical self-checks do not certify mastery. Complete line-by-line annotation, further translation and scansion practice, qualified Latin-teacher review, full timed papers and human marking remain outstanding. Open the assigned edition alongside these lessons: public ancient texts can differ in spelling, punctuation or editorial readings from the prescribed prose anthology. Practice explanations are formative, not Cambridge questions, marks or predicted grades. Cambridge has announced withdrawal; the last assessment is June 2028, in administrative zones 3, 4, 5 and 6 only. Confirm entry with your centre.
Before you begin
- Read the assigned Latin alongside this guide
- Use case, verb and clause evidence before literary interpretation
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What should distinguish passage evidence from wider context?
What you will learn
- Separate the parts of Arruns's request
- Explain partial divine response and dramatic irony
Read this assigned passage
Aeneid 11.785–798. Keep your assigned edition open. These original guides use the underlying ancient text; check differences against the prescribed anthology and your teacher's reading.
Read the request accurately
Arruns appeals to Apollo of Soracte, invoking his community's worship. He asks to remove Camilla and treats her as a menace to his side. He says he does not seek her equipment or trophy; other deeds will bring him reputation, while he hopes to return home after this one.
Apollo grants the part leading to Camilla's sudden death but refuses the return. The paired references to part of the prayer make selective response explicit. Successful attack and safe survival are therefore separate outcomes.
Distinguish character claim and narrator knowledge
The denial of spoils belongs to Arruns's speech, not an objective guarantee of every motive. His request still seeks a violent military result. Explain what his language emphasises without pretending it proves moral innocence.
The narrator knows which part is refused before Arruns experiences the consequences. This makes the apparent fulfilment ominous: the reader knows more than the petitioner. Identify that knowledge difference when discussing irony, rather than use the term without explanation.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
Which desired outcome is not granted?
Worked example
A student says Apollo grants the whole prayer because Camilla is struck. What is omitted?
Show the worked solution
- The prayer also seeks return home.
- The narrator explicitly refuses that part.
- Separate success of attack from safety.
Answer The return request is omitted. Apollo's response is partial: success against Camilla is granted while safe return is not, so the attack's success cannot prove total fulfilment.
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Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Guided: List granted and denied parts of the request.
Give me a hint
Use the narrator's paired response.
Compare my reasoning
- Identify the request against Camilla.
- Identify the hoped-for homecoming.
- Assign the stated response to each.
The request for success against Camilla is granted, while the return home is denied. A response must retain both components instead of equating one fulfilled aim with the whole prayer.
Look for these in your work
- Identifies aims
- Uses response
- Keeps outcomes separate
Independent: Explain the dramatic irony without merely naming it.
Give me a hint
Compare what the reader and Arruns know.
Compare my reasoning
- The narrator reveals the refused return.
- Arruns continues into the attack.
- Explain how this qualifies apparent success.
The reader knows the successful attack will not secure the homecoming Arruns hopes for. That knowledge makes his apparent success ominous before he understands its cost, which is the local basis for dramatic irony.
Look for these in your work
- Uses reader knowledge
- Uses character limit
- Explains effect
Application: Compare the desire for another person's defeat with the claim not to want spoils.
Give me a hint
Read the complete request.
Compare my reasoning
- He disclaims equipment as a reward.
- He still seeks Camilla's removal.
- Judge the limited significance of the disclaimer.
Refusing spoils limits one stated reward, not the violent purpose of the prayer. A reasoned evaluation should examine both the disclaimer and the requested defeat rather than infer wholly selfless or harmless conduct.
Look for these in your work
- Uses disclaimer
- Uses requested harm
- Qualifies judgement
Common mistakes
- Calling the whole prayer granted
- Making refusal of spoils proof of harmlessness
- Ignoring reader/character knowledge
What can you explain now?
Which desired outcome is not granted?
Compare with the explanation
Arruns's return home
The narrator separates the permitted killing from the denied return.
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Make it stick
Which desired outcome is not granted?
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.