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:
Quis nōn colōris nostrī pūniceum decus
Quis nōn odōris suāvēs dēliciās amat,
Dīxit Amarantō, sibi placēns nimium, Rosa?
Amarantus autem: nīl, ait, mihi quidem
Contingit hōrum simile; sed vīvō diū.
PROSE MACRONS. Here is the same text with macrons written out in prose word order:
Rosa, sibi placēns nimium, Amarantō dīxit: Quis nōn amat colōris nostrī decus pūniceum? Quis nōn amat odōris dēliciās suāvēs? Amarantus autem ait: Mihi quidem nīl contingit hōrum simile, sed vīvō diū.
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):
Rosa, sibi placens nímium, Amaránto dixit: Quis non amat colóris nostri decus puníceum? Quis non amat odóris delícias suaves? Amarántus autem ait: Mihi quidem nil contíngit horum símile, sed vivo diu.
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.
Quis nōn· colō·ris nos·trī pū·niceum· decus
Quis nōn· odō·ris suā·vēs dē·liciās· amat,
Dīxit· Amaran·tō, sibi· placēns· nimium,· Rosa?
Amaran·tus au·tem: nīl·, ait,· mihi· quidem
Contin·git hō·rum simi·le; sed· vīvō· diū.
IMAGE. Here is an illustration for the story (image source) showing a withered rose:
What follows is an unmarked version of the prose rendering to faciliate word searches:
Rosa, sibi placens nimium, Amaranto dixit: Quis non amat coloris nostri decus puniceum? Quis non amat odoris delicias suaves? Amarantus autem ait: Mihi quidem nil contingit horum simile, sed vivo diu.
