READ OUT LOUD. Choose which marked text you prefer to practice with - macrons in verse form, or macrons in prose order, or accent marks in prose order, or focusing on the iambic meter. You will find materials for all of these options below. :-)
VERSE MACRONS. Here is the verse text with macrons:
Serpēns lacertam fōrte adversam prenderat,
quam dēvorāre patulā cum vellet gulā,
arripuit illa prope iacentem sūrculum,
et pertinācī morsū transversum tenēns
avidum sollertī rictum frēnāvit morā.
praedam dīmīsit ōre serpēns inritam.
PROSE MACRONS. Here is the same text with macrons written out in prose word order:
Serpēns lacertam adversam fōrte prenderat. Cum lacertam gulā patulā dēvorāre vellet, illa sūrculum arripuit prope iacentem, et morsū pertinācī transversum tenēns morā sollertī rictum avidum frēnāvit. Serpēns praedam inritam ōre dīmīsit.
STRESS (ACCENT) MARKS. Here is the prose text with accents, plus some color-coding for the words of three or more syllables (blue: penultimate stress; red: antepenultimate stress):
Serpens lacértam advérsam forte prénderat. Cum lacértam gula pátula devoráre vellet, illa súrculum arrípuit prope iacéntem, et morsu pertináci transvérsum tenens mora sollérti rictum ávidum frenávit. Serpens praedam ínritam ore dimísit.
IAMBIC METER. Here is the verse text with some color coding to assist in the iambic meter. The disyllabic elements (iambs/spondees) are not marked, but the trisyllabic elements are color-coded: dactyls are red, anapests are purple, and tribrachs are green (as is any proceleusmaticus, although that is a rare creature); for more information, here are some Notes on Iambic Meter.
Serpēns· lacer·tam fōr·t~ adver·sam pren·derat,
quam dē·vorā·re patu·lā cum· vellet· gulā,
arripu·it il·la prope· iacen·tem sūr·culum,
et per·tinā·cī mor·sū trans·versum· tenēns
avidum· soller·tī ric·tum frē·nāvit· morā.
praedam· dīmī·sit ō·re ser·pēns in·ritam.
IMAGE. Here is an illustration for the story (image source) showing some scary snake jaws!
What follows is an unmarked version of the prose rendering to faciliate word searches:
Serpens lacertam adversam forte prenderat. Cum lacertam gula patula devorare vellet, illa surculum arripuit prope iacentem, et morsu pertinaci transversum tenens mora sollerti rictum avidum frenavit. Serpens praedam inritam ore dimisit.
